Pound of Flesh
by SheCan
Summary: Percy has never had it easy, not by any means. Simply surviving had been his biggest problem until he was thrust back into a curious society where anonymity was unheard of and feigning normalcy was next to impossible. With mortals watching his every move and his depression weighing down on him, will Percy ever pay the Pied Piper? Will his world be exposed to the prying eyes?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is, obviously, my very first story. Although this isn't the most _original_ spin on a PJO fic, I hope you'll keep an open mind and read it anyways.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any subject matter relating to the original stories. That honor remains with Rick Riordan. I do, however, own this particular take on this overused plot line, so no infringement please! Also, the readings from the textbook are actually from a textbook. That's not mine either.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter One

Percy was in his English class, where they were just now going over the Greek myths in literature. Of course, he'd been excited for this course since he'd first seen it on the syllabus he'd gotten at the beginning of the year. He figured it was something he'd have no problem Acing.

One thing he hadn't accounted for, however, was that they'd be recounting myths thoroughly, beginning to end, and he'd have to relive some memories he'd rather have kept to himself.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't have Paul as his English teacher this year; therefore Paul hadn't been able to watch out for Percy in his readings like he would have if Percy had been one of his students. Paul wasn't even aware that Percy's current English teacher, Dr. Boring, was covering Greek mythology at all.

So it was because of this, that on the Thursday Dr. Boring decided to start teaching his class the 'lore' that was Percy's life, Percy ended up having a severe panic attack—in front of thirty of his teenaged peers, no less.

Dr. Boring passed out the thin textbooks that had cartoon caricatures of various Greek personas, such as Pandora, the Minotaur, and, of course, Hercules.

Percy sneered at the cover, recognizing the awful interpretation of Zeus' son immediately. Dr. Boring seemed to mistake it for disinterest, and stared accusingly at the young hero.

"Not looking forward to this unit, Jackson?"

Percy shook his head. "I just don't care for Hercules, is all."

Dr. Boring rolled his eyes and continued passing the books out. He assumed that the boy was merely saying that to appease him, to avoid any sort of trouble he 'likely' deserved. After teaching for nearly twenty years, he'd lost all respect—if there ever had been any—for the fickle, petty teenagers he taught.

He walked back to the front of the class and cleared his throat, perching on the edge of his desk and licking his index finger as to maneuver throughout the book more easily. He flipped to the first page and instructed his class to do the same. "Tyler," he said, calling on one of Percy's mortal friends. "Begin reading, if you will."

"_First there was Chaos, and from Chaos, Gaea, or mother earth, emerged. She soon had her son Uranus, who instantly showered her with fertility and impregnated her with the Hekatonknieres [hundred-handed giants], Cyclops, and Titans. Uranus and Gaea were also the parents of all the seas, mountains, and natural features of the world."_

Percy stiffened in his seat when his friend mentioned Gaea, remembering all of the cruel things he'd endured because of her. He clenched his hands into tight fists, gripping the sides of his textbook until he almost tore it in half.

Dr. Boring was famous for upholding his name, and it was a rarity that the kids in his classes _weren't _bored to tears, but every year, it seemed, they held onto his—or, rather, the _students_—every word when it came to the Greeks.

And, of course, this meant that all thirty-one students were paying attention.

Dr. Boring called on more and more students to read about the Olympian Creation, until they got to the part where the Olympians revolted against the Titans, and eventually won. That was when Percy was called on to read. Somehow, despite his dyslexia and his growing trepidation, he managed to only mess up a few times, a particularly impressive feat for him.

"_The Olympians were not completely triumphant, however, because the Giants took over where the Titans left off. The Giants proved to be fierce foes; for they were prophesized not to lose as long as only gods fought them. Zeus solved this by summoning his son Heracles, who was mortal at the time. Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Ares, Artemis and Apollo slew most of the giants, and all looked clear for the Olympians."_

Percy broke out in a cold sweat, remembering battling the Giants. It didn't bother him so much that Hercules was awarded with credit of defeating the giants instead of Dionysus—he was not a fan of either of them. He was bothered by the fact that he was relieving his worst nightmares…and in the middle of his class, no less.

Dr. Boring looked up at Percy, wanting revenge for Percy's less than excited attitude earlier. He only meant to cause him distress in his disadvantages for reading, horrible as it might have been. He had no idea, though, that his actions would end up causing Percy a world of grief he'd rather have not shown anyone.

"Read the next paragraph, as well, Jackson."

"_By now, Gaea had a change of heart, and she was somewhat perturbed that her children, the Titans and Giants, had been either punished or killed by the new generation of gods. As a final attempt for vengeance, she summoned her terrible son Typhon to challenge the newly-acquired power of Zeus and the Olympians. Typhon was so horrid, with his thunderous voice, serpentine body, and one-to-two-hundred heads, that the rest of the Olympians fled. With some hardship, Zeus crushed the monster under Mount Etna, which still heaves with his convulsions."_

Percy's eyes bulged as he skimmed over the words, and he started shaking. His peers looked at him, shocked that this anomaly, this brazen kid they all wanted desperately to know, was seemingly on the verge of tears.

Some whispered in the back of the room:

"_Is something wrong with Percy?"_

"_I think he's crying!"_

"_What's up with Jackson?"_

Percy got lost in his memories then, a blackout similar to the ones his dear friend Hazel Levesque often experienced before she and Frank had mentally ventured through her death. He wasn't aware of what was happening, however, much _unlike_ Hazel, who had. He actually thought he was living in the present when he went to these moments. Percy had enough horrid memories over his five years of demigod awareness, and he seemed to jump from one to another.

He remembered the burning, the awful pain of the lava as it singed his hair and melted his skin. The building, building, building of the sea within him, growing until he let out a guttural scream, scarier than the Panic Grover had caused during the Battle of the Labyrinth. He recalled flying through the sky, faster than a comet, incandescently lighting up the midday firmament, until he passed out, eventually waking on Ogygia, where he experienced a loss unknown to him, one that meant little to nothing compared to how he'd felt at the prospect of losing Annabeth merely months prior to his time.

He flashed to another memory, where he'd watched Typhon march across the continental United States, destroying whole towns and leaving carnage in his wake. He remembered watching his father and his brother take him down, a moment where he'd finally held the upper hand against Kronos, though it had been terrifying to observe.

Next, he was beating Polybotes, and he threw the boundary god Terminus at him, therefore killing him. That hadn't been near as bad as his next fight with the giants, Ephialtes and Otis, where Nico had nearly been dead and he was _beyond _worried for Annabeth. Jason and he had ended up dueling with them in the Coliseum, only winning because Bacchus had a pinecone.

Then there was Gaea, his worst memory of all. When Annabeth and he had been in Tartarus, where it was dark and cold, and every monster they'd ever beaten had been waiting in the infinite shadows, her voice spoke to him more than it ever had on Earth, on _her_.

He remembered the awful torture of the fire in his throat, knowing it was the only way but hating it the entire time, hating that Annabeth had to feel what he had to. He remembered the curses, hearing Annabeth call out to him blindly, scared more than he'd ever seen her before.

The torment they'd caused her….

Percy knew Annabeth was stronger than anyone alive, but she was not as accustomed to physical pain as he was. She not only cried, she _wept_; deep broken sobs that erupted from her chest. He could still feel it in his heart the way she'd called for him, how she'd needed him then more than ever and how he was useless as to help her.

He wanted to die because knowing she was in pain—and he couldn't help her—was worse than anything he'd ever known before in his life. He would never forget Tartarus and all the pain they had had to suffer through down there.

When they'd escaped, when the war was over, he'd looked back on his last night there. Generally, they were nightmares, ones only Annabeth could comfort him from, but there was also something rather _pleasing_ of them, too. He'd kept his promise, he'd kept them together, at whatever cost, no matter how much. He'd realized only after how much he'd paid to keep her safe. Annabeth had been almost scared of Percy, he knew, but he couldn't control himself. He would never regret what he had done to get them out of there, but he hated how it had changed her view of him.

All of his recollections of his times spent enduring for the Olympians were _painful_. They left an empty spot in his heart, a void that was only filled when he was with the one he loved. Due to her absence, he'd been growing more and more depressed, suffering though his PTSD alone. He knew that on the opposite coast, she was dealing with the same things, which only added to his grief.

During his blackout, tears had been streaming down his face. He'd been clawing at his desk angrily, tearing up his nails and causing his cuticles to bleed. He was screaming about Annabeth, a girl no one at his school knew of. He was begging unknown forces to free her, to kill him instead.

When he first started yelling, there were a few snickers while everyone thought he was making a joke. Then, once they realized that something serious was happening, they could do nothing but sit and stare as if it were a train wreck.

Percy wasn't a popular boy, and though PTSD was normal—expected, even—for someone who had been through as much as he had, his classmates were not accustomed to it. They'd never actually seen anyone, much less a guy that they knew and secretly revered, freak out. They had never witnessed the horrifying agony of Percy Jackson.

Dr. Boring was also too stunned to act appropriately in the situation at hand. He began by yelling at Percy, but when he realized that he wasn't being heard, he went over to him and started violently shaking him. Still getting no reaction, Dr. Boring himself had gone into a slight panic, never before having seen a student behave in that way. He was almost tempted to call the police, the psych ward, _someone_ who knew how to handle the crazies. Instead, he called a different classroom.

"Paul," he called into the phone, his eyes wide as he watched Percy fall sideways out of his chair and start convulsing on the floor in sporadic tangents where he'd start growling viciously.

"Yes, Richard?" his colleague hesitantly answered from the other end of the phone. Paul and he had gotten into many disagreements over their shared years at Goode, ones Paul generally won. He was afraid Richard had called simply to dispute his suggestion on longer breaks in between classes.

"Your son—_stepson_—Percy, he's…he's…I don't actually _know_ what's happening to him, Paul, but something is terribly wrong."

Dr. Boring could hear Paul curse slightly under his breath before shouting at the students to stay where they were and to not move. He rolled his eyes at the naivety of his coworker, despite the situation. He could always find fault in Mr. Blofis.

Generally, it was his stepson, but it was always _something_.

Moments later, Paul burst through his door, his usual blazer missing and his tie loosened. A slight sheen of sweat adorned his hairline, and the fluorescents bounced off his skin brightly. His salt-and-pepper hair stuck up abnormally, another flaw Richard found. He mentally compared himself to Paul, and found that he, Dr. Boring, came out on top.

Paul raced to Percy's side, whispering to him, though it didn't seem to do much good. His eyes moved around the classroom until they landed on Tyler. He called him over, and Tyler jumped up and came to assist his favorite teacher he'd ever had in whatever way he could.

"What do you need me to do, Mr. Blofis?"

"Help me take him to the front office. He needs to go home."

Some wise kid in the back of the room muttered _asylum_, trying not to be heard by anyone other than his friends, but Paul heard him anyways. He turned to him, a threatening look in his eyes. "Andrews," he barked madly. "You have detention with me every day after school next week."

Vick Andrews slumped down in his seat, glaring angrily at the desk in front of him.

Together, Paul and Tyler managed to haul Percy—who was still hollering out—up and out of the classroom.

Tyler was afraid of Paul's wrath if he were to be upset once more, but he braved his possible fate anyways. "Mr. Blofis?"

"Yes?" Paul asked distracted.

"What happened?"

Paul clenched his jaw, and Tyler feared he'd be joining Vick in detention next week, until Paul sighed sadly.

"It's not my story to tell, Tyler, and although if Percy wants to tell you someday, then he can, but I highly doubt he will. It's very personal. It relates to what happened to him last year when he was gone."

Tyler remembered all too well what his sophomore year had been like. He and Percy had become friends halfway through their freshman year, shortly after Tyler moved to Manhattan. Tyler had feared rejection from everyone, especially someone as intimidating as Percy Jackson was, but he found out shortly thereafter that Percy was a lot more than that.

He was actually quite obtuse about things, and didn't understand girls very well. He didn't know why girls seemed to like him, nor did he understand why people thought he was untouchable. He said, with a twinkle in his eyes that Tyler still to that day didn't understand, that he was just like everyone else. Tyler didn't believe him, of course, but he'd assented to his testament nonetheless.

Last year, Percy and he had joined the swim team together, and Percy had been made captain. They were both excited to share an activity together, something that they both seemed to like, though Tyler suspected Percy had a deep bond with the water that he simply couldn't understand.

Four months into the school year, Percy had just stopped showing up to school. Paul was gone for a week before he returned, his eyes ringed red and his face showing an age and a sorrow no one had understood. Everyone assumed Percy had run away, or been kicked out of school again (they all knew his history with school), though no one knew why. Paul eventually revealed that Percy had been an exchange student studying abroad in Greece, trying to find ties with his ancestral background.

Few people bought the heritage story, but, then again, they had no choice but to believe it. There was no proof suggesting otherwise, and they had no reason to doubt Mr. Blofis. He was, after all, Percy's stepdad.

Tyler had taken it understandably hard. Percy was his only friend at Goode, and when he disappeared, Tyler had no one. He'd been friends with Percy's other friend, an odd girl by the name of Rachel Elizabeth Dare, but she'd transferred out to a girls finishing school in New Hampshire. It wasn't until the year was nearly over that Tyler had bonded with a small group of people that had equally admired Percy, although from a distance.

When Percy had walked through the doors the first day of school, everyone in the hallways literally stopped what they had been doing to stare at him. He was back, and he was no longer the somewhat scrawny kid they remembered. He was lean and tan, with messy hair and unexplained scars. His eyes shown and his teeth were almost white enough to blind you. Tyler finally understood what a man-crush was, because although he didn't lust after Percy in the slightest, he wanted to be like him in every way. He could see that nearly all the other guys felt the same way, too, and the girls _did_ lust after him, and they lusted _hard_.

To see his best friend torn down in only a matter of moments, for no foreseeable reason, Tyler felt as if the world he'd come to know had been a huge lie. Percy was, in fact, _not_ perfect. Something seriously wrong had happened to him in the last year, and while he agreed with Paul, sure that Percy was not going to be revealing the truth behind his disappearance, he wanted to help him. Tyler never imagined that _he'd_ be helping Percy instead of the other way around.

It was a gift he hadn't been prepared to take.

They eventually reached the front office where Tyler helped Percy lay down on the bench while Paul called his wife.

Tyler sat beside Percy, watching him, worried. He couldn't understand most of what Percy was saying, and originally he thought it was because Percy was sobbing and muttering, but realized that it was because Percy was _speaking a different language_. Tyler hadn't known that Percy was bilingual. Tyler spoke Spanish fluently, a bonus of growing up with a Latino for a mother, but he'd never heard anything that sounded remotely similar to what Percy was saying.

*****"_Ανάθεμά σε, Γαία! Αφήστε μας ήσυχους!"_

The only thing Tyler understood from the strange sentence was the name _Gaea_, the Mother Earth. He was muttering about things they'd learned in class? Was the rest of it just gibberish? Tyler considered the possibility that Percy had hit his head really hard when he fell to the ground, and maybe that was why he made no sense. Maybe he was just echoing words he'd heard in class, shortly before he'd had his panic attack.

Paul came over to him then, his face bleak and worn. He squatted on the ground next to Percy and pushed his hair back over his forehead, like a father would when comforting his small child. Tyler felt like he was intruding, but he didn't want to leave just yet, not until Mrs. Blofis showed up. He decided to broach his ponderings to Mr. Blofis, then.

"He mentioned something about Gaea," he said, watching as Paul's eyes widened. He wondered about that, but forged ahead. "We're studying Greek Mythology in English right now. I think he's just repeating things he's already heard."

Paul whispered, _"Of course,_" under his breath before smiling slightly at Tyler. "Thank you for all of your help. I assume you want to stay here with Percy until Sally comes?"

Tyler nodded his head.

Paul sighed like he had expected as much. "Alright. Well, if you're going to be staying with him, I'll return to my own class. If you could just tell his mother about the Gaea thing when she gets here, I'd appreciate it."

He nodded again, though he found it an odd request to be making.

Mr. Blofis stood and headed for the door that would lead him back out to the hallway. He sent one more helpless look at his stepson before walking out.

Tyler waited for ten minutes until his best friend's mom hurried through the doors. The second she saw Percy lying on the bench, she got to her knees and stroked his cheeks comfortingly, wiping the trail of tears away. Percy quieted somewhat, likely recognizing his mother. Sally kissed him on his forehead before asking Tyler if he could help her get Percy into her car.

Once Mrs. Blofis had Percy securely strapped in in the backseat, she turned to Tyler with a sad but appreciative smile on her face, not unlike the one her husband had given him only fifteen minutes prior.

"Thank you so much, honey. Do you know what could have set him off?"

He remembered the promise he made to Mr. Blofis, and nodded his head at her. "He said the name Gaea. We're learning about her and all the Greek stuff in class right now. I think he just started saying things he'd heard Dr. Boring say during the lesson."

Sally looked through the back window, her face so impossibly sad. She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a little sob of her own. "Oh, my poor hero," she whispered, though Tyler heard her anyways. He filed that away for later.

"Have a good day, Mrs. Blofis," he said, backing away.

She waved at him before getting into the driver's seat and pulling out of the school parking lot and out onto the road.

Tyler walked back into the school, determined to figure out what had happened to Percy, and help him through it in any way that he possibly could.

That's what friends were for, after all.

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**A/N (part two) Thank you for reading. Or skimming. Or whatever you might have done after clicking on my story. I really appreciate it! **

**Just a heads up, Tyler is _not_ a demigod, and all the campers will _not_ be joining Goode suddenly in the middle of the school year. That's just weird, I think, for a dozen new kids to show up on the same day when they already know each other. Weird and unrealistic. However, because PoF is clearly labeled as Percabeth, Annabeth _will_ be joining later on. Not too soon, because this is PERCY'S story, my version anyways, where he's dealing with his PTSD and struggling to hide his half-godhood from the people around him, all while having to repay a debt he owes an unknown third party. **

*** _Damn you, Gaea! Leave us alone!_**

**Quid pro quo, if you leave a review, I'm more likely to update. So, if you're into updates, drop me a helpful critique or suggestion and go on your merry way! (I'm not blackmailing you, by the way).**

**-SheCan**

**P.S. My signature is not only a morale booster, but also (partly) my actual name. If you're a weirdo and try to Google me, you won't find me. And, if you do, I won't admit to anything so you won't know either way. Just don't be creepy, and leave it alone!**

**Au revoir!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N So, here's chapter two. It's more Sally-centric. I like getting in her head, and I hope you do, too. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Percy Jackson. I wish I did, though. *le sigh* If only.**

**Enjoy!**

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Percy woke up on his bed, a cold dishtowel draped across his forehead and his shoes removed from his feet. He played with the frayed fringe of the towel before setting it unceremoniously on the nightstand beside him. He heard the quiet humming of his mother, and threw his legs over the side.

"Mom," he croaked when she walked inside.

She hadn't been looking at him, and the sudden noise must have startled her. She clutched at her heart, dropping the basket of laundry she had had in her arms. "Oh, my," she breathed, bending down to refold them.

Percy clambered off the bed and came to her side, putting all of his shirts and pants back into the wicker basket. He helped her up and shook his head, removing the hair from his eyes.

"Mom," he repeated, his voice returning to normal. "What happened?"

Sally sighed, leading him back over to his bed, perching on the end. She folded her hands in her lap, staring at him sadly as he sat down beside her.

"You had another attack, Sweetie," she told him. "In English class. Do you remember any of this? Tyler helped Paul take you to the nurse's office."

Percy's face reddened, and he turned away from his mother, embarrassed. Of course he'd told her Chiron had diagnosed him with PTSD, but he hadn't liked to talk about it. The only one he wanted to talk to about any of it was Annabeth, and that was only because he wanted to help _her_ through her own sufferings. He knew her flaw was hubris and not him, but he also thought that pride was just something a man was born with.

Sally stroked his hair away from his face, scratching her nails through the dark tendrils like she had done when he had been much younger.

"You don't have to talk about it, Percy, but I honestly think it will help you."

He shook his head, pushing up from his bed and walking to his desk. He hunched over it, his palms flat against the tabletop, not facing her. "I don't think it's a good idea, Mom. I'll talk to Annabeth later about it."

A tear fell from Sally's eye, and she brushed it away hastily, not wanting him to see her upset. She understood his distance, but she hated it. She wanted him to tell her everything like he had before he'd realized he was a demigod, before all the bad things started happening. Sally never regretted Percy for herself, for he was the greatest gift Poseidon could've ever given her. However, she did sometimes believe that Percy would've been better off to have never been born. Those thoughts generally only came to her when he was in trouble, whether on a quest or fighting a war, but still, they came.

Moments of weakness.

"I'll leave you until dinner, then," she whispered, trying to keep the hoarseness out of her words.

_My poor son_, she thought. _My poor little hero_….

Percy knew his mother was upset, knew it without even having to look at her, but he couldn't help it, couldn't help _her_. He wasn't going to heal quickly, at least not from talking. His only real medicine was Annabeth, and even that was a slow working remedy.

The only thing that had kept him alive during those days was Annabeth. She was relentlessly strong mentally, only breaking when she'd believed he had been. As cheesy as it sounded, she was Percy's rock, and without her there, he wasn't grounded.

He pounded a fist into the wood desk, finding euphoria from the physical pain it caused and the hollow sound it created. He did it over and over again until the tears that were falling from his eyes blurred his vision too much for him to see anymore.

"Annabeth," he sobbed falling to his knees, his head in his hands. He needed her with him. It was selfish, but he just wanted to go to her, to take her and to escape far away from anything they knew. He wanted her all to himself. He didn't want to share her presence with anyone else, and he never wanted her out of his sight again.

Secretly he tried to hide his biggest fears, both of which had to do with her. His first fear was that without him, something terrible would happen to her all alone in San Francisco. The worry that came with that doubled when they'd learned about the Roman's. They were right there, and many were still not on good terms with the Greek's. The other fear, though irrational as it were, was his worst. He worried that Annabeth would turn to someone new without him there, that she'd get so lonely or so upset that she'd run to the first pair of open arms. He knew that that wasn't likely, knew on some level that Annabeth truly loved him, but when he looked at her, he knew that it was _possible_. Percy knew at least that other guys would be offering, whether she complied or not.

He snuffled, sucking in deep breaths. If he wasn't careful, he was going to cause another panic attack, and it was something he didn't want his mom to have to see twice in one day.

He crawled over to his bed and pulled himself up, curling into a tight ball on top of his comforter. He clutched at the plaid cotton, wrinkling the thick blanket, tear drops leaving salty stains behind. He tried to keep the sobs to a minimum, only letting the most stubborn of tears fall.

Sometime during the myriad thoughts of his numbness, he heard the _click_ of the front door opening and closing, the muted thud of a leather briefcase hitting the wooden floors, and the slight shuffle of dress shoes being removed. Percy heard the hushed tones of his parents talking in the kitchen, likely about him and the scene he'd caused in class earlier.

He heard the sound of his mom's slippers smacking against the floor, nearing his room, and he rolled over onto his back, trying to erase the last few hours of tears from his face before she could see.

"Percy," she said, knocking gently on the doorframe.

He sat up, his head pounding in his skull like a jackhammer. "Is dinner ready now?" he asked her, finding his footing.

She nodded, a worried look clearly displayed on her soft features.

Sally didn't look much like Percy. She had dark blue eyes and dark brown hair, while he had ocean eyes and hair the color of obsidian. Her features were muted while his were pronounced, and looking at him reminded her so much of his father that sometimes her heart ached.

She loved Paul, she honestly did, but Poseidon was someone she just couldn't forget, no matter how hard she tried to move on. He'd offered her a palace under the sea, and while she'd refuse once more if he ever came back, she knew she'd be tempted. Her heart would beg her to go while her head rationalized everything. Paul was all that she needed, but she _wanted_ Poseidon. She wanted to feel the crashing of the waves when she touched him, wanted to see the whirlpools of the ocean when she looked into his eyes. Lying next to Paul each night, hearing the steady snores emanating from his chest, made her feel guilty. She wanted the ocean and the storms and the mass chaos that came with having a god lie with her in bed. She wanted everything that she'd given up, wanted everything that she couldn't have.

"I made blue spaghetti and blue garlic bread. If you don't hurry, Paul might eat it all before you get in there."

He cracked a smile, which made everything worth it. Giving up her dreams for him was her job, one she had been willing to do since she'd discovered his existence. Paul was good for her, and he was good for Percy.

Percy hurried to the kitchen, grabbing a plate and loading it high with blue noodles and blue bread. She laughed under her breath, remembering all the times he'd done that before their lives had irrevocably changed. Blue food had always been their thing, and she hoped that Percy would continue that tradition long after she was gone.

He sat down in his usual seat, across from where Sally sat. Paul was nervously twirling spaghetti noodles around on his fork, his eyes flickering from the utensil to his stepson, who obliviously shoved food down his throat. Paul thought about what he was he going to say the entire car ride back to the apartment, but still, the words didn't seem right to him. He knew that whatever he said, Percy was likely to get upset and storm out, and that was the last thing Paul wanted.

"Percy," he finally said, clearing his throat and all doubt that had wormed its way into his chest. "We should talk about this."

Percy's jaw clenched, and if he hadn't held Paul with such high regards, he likely would've chewed him out. No one seemed to understand that he didn't want to talk about his problems, because he'd always had problems and he likely always would. It wasn't just part of being a demigod; it was a necessary part of being human.

"I _really_ don't think that that's a good idea, Paul," Percy scowled. "Let's just leave it alone."

Sally bit her lip nervously, watching her son closely. She reached out a hand and placed it gently on his shoulder. "Now, Percy," she warned.

Paul had concocted a plan shortly after returning to his classroom, and ever since, he'd been antsy about telling Percy about it. He'd called Sally on his lunch break to discuss it with her, and was happy to know she was fine with his idea. She'd even sounded happier than Paul felt. He had wanted to tell Percy as soon as he got home, but Sally had stopped him. She said there were ramifications from acting as Percy had, and although she laid no fault with her son, she knew that his peers wouldn't understand.

Paul had simply nodded his head in agreement, finally seeing things her way, just as he always did. Word traveled fast, and a multitude of theories had already made their way around the school. People had no sense of privacy, and would therefore say hurtful and accusatory things all over their Facebook pages or Twitter feeds. He was just glad his stepson was unable to use the Internet during times like these. He wished he was, too.

His wife told him that if they kept it for a surprise, then maybe the students would switch their focus from Percy's breakdown to Paul's ingenious plan. At least, that's what they were hoping for. It would cheer him up, at least, if it did nothing else.

"We don't have to talk about what actually happened, but maybe we should discuss your English class. Maybe I can have you placed into a different class where you aren't studying the mythology."

Percy shook his head, stubbornly cutting his spaghetti into little pieces. "That's not an option, Paul. I know it's a part of the junior curriculum, so I'll have to study it at some point. And besides, if I stop going to class, people are just going to talk about me even more than I know they already are."

Sally placed her hand on top of his. "You shouldn't listen to them, Percy."

"I know, and I'm not. I don't care what they say about me, Mom. But the less they talk about me the easier it is to keep my secret, and I really don't want to switch schools again. I'm finally doing well."

"And I'm proud of you, Percy, for your grades, but you've done so many other important things. It's understandable if you're not ready to face these people again for a while."

He pushed away from his spot at the table. "I'm not hungry anymore," he said, standing up. He raked his plate out into the trashcan and sat his dishes in the sink before hurrying down the hall and into his bedroom again.

Sally sighed. "I wish there was something I could do to help him."

Paul smiled gently at her. "He's probably IM'ing Annabeth right now. That's all that can help him through this."

She nodded her head. "I know that, I do, but I'm his mother. I should be doing something more for him. It's my job to look after him, and I feel so useless in this situation."

Paul chuckled sadly. "This may not be much of a comfort to you, Sal, but I'm pretty sure you're the only mother of a demigod who has had to deal with their son repeatedly saving the world and falling into Tartarus. No one blames you for not knowing how to handle this. Heck, before I even knew Percy was a demigod, I was scared at the prospect of helping to raise him. You're doing so well, too. Better than anyone probably expected of you."

Sally stared at her half-full plate, suddenly not hungry anymore. At least she wouldn't have to cook supper again the next night; they'd just have leftover spaghetti.

She stood up and kissed Paul on his cheek. "Thanks, Honey. I'm going to go to bed."

Paul brushed his hand against her thigh, nodding his head worriedly. "Okay, go lay down. I'll clean up in here."

Sally sighed, trailing down the hallway, headed for her bedroom. She wasn't feeling the least bit tired, but she definitely wasn't in the mood to stay up and talk anymore about her feelings. She knew Paul was only trying to help her, and she appreciated it a lot, but just like Percy, words weren't going to help her. Unless her son was healed, _she_ wasn't going to be healed. It was just a part of being a mother.

She was about to turn the handle on her bedroom door when she heard the deep chuckle of her son from inside his bedroom. She tiptoed over to his door, and softly laid her head against the dark wood, her hand cupping her ear hoping to better make out his words. She knew eavesdropping on her son's conversation with his girlfriend might be bad parenting, but she just wanted to conclude that Percy was, indeed, alright.

"Apparently I freaked out in English class today."

"Oh, Percy," she heard the blonde lament. "Are you okay? Vlakas," she cursed. "Of course you're not okay. Tell me what happened, Seaweed Brain. And don't spare me any details."

She smiled despite the subject. Annabeth always had a way of bossing people around and coming across caring whilst doing it. It amused Sally, and she knew that her son was smiling on the other side of the door.

"Well, we're studying creation according to the Greeks. Dr. Boring made me read about the Titans and the Giants and Gaea, and I just couldn't handle it. I thought of all the bad times…all the things they did to you, and I just had a panic attack. People are already talking about me and how big of an idiot I am."

"What are they saying?"

"You know, the usual stuff. I'm pretending, I'm pathetic, I'm gay. You know what teenagers say about people—what they say on the internet. It's nothing I'm particularly worried about."

Annabeth growled frustratingly, and Sally could hear the _thump_ as something fell onto the ground. "I could just…. I don't know what I could do right now, but it wouldn't be pretty, Percy. I hate all those stupid mortals you go to school with. If they only knew what you've been through—"

"Then they wouldn't believe me, and they'd only say worse things." He exhaled loudly. "I know how you feel, Wise Girl. I feel the same way every time you IM me, crying, about your nightmares and all the things they say to you. I just want to hurt them, Annabeth, and I don't like hurting anyone."

Someone sniffled, though Sally couldn't tell if it was Percy or Annabeth. Their conversation had taken an emotional turn, after all.

"Don't worry about me, Perce. I have a plan for all of my peer's nonsense. They'll never say anything about me again, not to my face, at least."

Percy laughed. "You can't beat them up, Beth."

"I technically _could_, you know. I could beat you up."

"Only if I let you win."

"Sure, _let_. Do you not remember our meeting in New Rome? I could totally take you and win."

"Take me _where_?"

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled.

Sally covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing herself. Her son was a seventeen-year-old male, after all, so of course he'd make dirty little jokes like that. She knew he was only kidding, though. Just looking at him while he was watching Annabeth showed anyone how much he respected and loved her. Sally didn't know how far they'd taken the physical aspects of their relationship, but she wasn't personally offended by it. She figured that if anyone was going to love a woman with all of themselves then that person was Percy. After all they'd been through, she knew how much they loved one another, and while she didn't want to think about them having sex, she wasn't naïve enough to think that neither of them had ever at least thought about it. Sex was supposed to be about showing a person how much you loved them when the actual words were not enough. Words had probably failed Annabeth when Percy had fallen into Tartarus with her.

"I love you, you know."

"I know," Annabeth whispered. Sally could hear her blush through the wall dividing them. "I love you, too, Seaweed Brain. More than you'll ever possibly realize."

"I know, Annabeth. Believe me, I do. Because I love you more than that. No one can ever feel for anyone what I feel for you. You have to know that after everything the two of us have been through."

"Of course I do. Even when we were twerlve, you were always there to save me. First from the robotic spiders and then you fell with me. No one _else_ may ever understand how you feel for me, but I _do_. It's how I feel for you. I took a freaking poisoned dagger, Percy Jackson, and I don't do that for just anybody."

Sally smiled. Most adults would have a heart attack if they heard their son's girlfriend talk about taking a knife for them or falling into hell, but it was just something that made Sally so immensely proud. Not just of her own little hero, not just Percy, but his little hero, too. Annabeth was a fundamental part of her life now, and Sally was as proud and protective of her as if she were her own daughter.

"I'd hope not," Percy joked. "I may not _like_ hurting people, but I'm not against it if you start hurting yourself for them."

"You're lucky you're cute when you're jealous. Otherwise, I don't know how I'd put up with all your possessiveness."

"Annabeth, I know you're somewhat of a modern feminist and everything, and I totally support you, but you're _mine_. I'm not saying I own you, or I control you, or whatever, but no one else is allowed to think of you, much less touch you, the way that I do. I'm not kidding when I say that I'll kill anyone who so much as looks at you funny, because not only are you_ my _person, but you're a person. And no one should think of you any differently."

"Wow," Annabeth breathed. "I know you were trying to state a point and everything there, Seaweed Brain, but that was really hot. Can you say all of that again the next time I see you?"

The mirth in his reply was obvious. "Did you even hear what I said?"

"Of course I did. I'm yours, which means you're mine. If any girl comes onto you, I have the right to slaughter them. I get how this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing works. But when you say things like that…. I don't know Percy, but it makes me really want to be yours."

"You heard me on the _Argo_, Annabeth. You know that it's going to happen as soon as we're both eighteen. Don't be surprised if on the day you're legally an adult, you're also legally engaged."

Annabeth giggled, and Sally's heart ached. She was sad about the prospect of losing her son, but she was also so proud of him and the man he was surely becoming. She wasn't really worried about either of them in the long run, just so long as they were together.

"Whenever you ask me, I'll say yes."

"Even if I asked you now?"

"Even if."

"You know how tempting that is, Annabeth? I'm itching to ask you now, in the least romantic way possible, when we're not even together. Isn't it kind of like, an unspoken rule, or something, that I have to get down on one knee?"

"Percy, that's actually of Nordic tradition. Taking an arrow to the knee was old Nordic slang for getting married. That's where the idea of getting down on one knee originates. At least, that's one opinion. Other people say it's for the man to show his submissive side, in a respectful way, originating from the Latin word _genuflexione. _Translated to English, it means genuflection. Of course, it's all relative, and we can only base this information on—"

"Annabeth," Percy interrupted. "I'm sorry, but you kind of just ruined the spontaneity of the moment."

"Percy, you weren't actually going to propose to me now. I'm not saying you have to do anything romantic, but I know you will. On our first month anniversary, you took me to Paris. I know you're going to do something special for the actual engagement."

Sally's breath caught. Percy had taken her to Paris? When was that? She wasn't even aware that he'd traveled out of the country, other than his last two quests where he went to Canada, or when he flew on the _Argo II_. She couldn't possibly imagine how he'd flown the two out there with no money and without her finding out.

"Sally," Paul said suddenly, startling her from her reverie. "I thought you were going to go lie down, not spy on Percy."

She blushed, stepping away from the door and heading towards her bedroom, Paul close behind her. He closed the door when the two of them were safely in the confines of their personal sanctuary, and he crossed him arms, his eyebrows raised amusedly.

"Are you going to tell me what you were doing?"

Sally stripped down and changed into her pajamas, getting ready for bed.

"I just wanted to know if he was okay, Paul. He's not going to tell me the truth, but I know he won't lie to Annabeth."

She turned the covers down on her side of the bed and fluffed the pillows, slinking in under the cool sheets. Paul eased down beside her, kissing her lightly on the cheek before flicking the lights off.

"I'm assuming you also heard more than that."

"They were talking about getting married, Paul. A good mother can't just turn away from something like that."

"You knew it was going to happen eventually. I thought you liked Annabeth."

She shook her head. "I love Annabeth. I want them to get together, Paul, and grow old. I've always wanted that for Percy. I'm just not sure that I'm ready for that to happen any time soon."

"It won't be any time soon, Sal. She's only seventeen, and he's just barely there. They have to wait until they're eighteen, and then they have to spend time planning it out. It'll be a while." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. "And if you want my expert opinion, Percy's going to be just as upset about leaving you as you are about it." He kissed her behind the ear. "Try and get some sleep."

Sally waited until his breathing evened out and his snores filled the room, and then she flipped over so that she was facing him. She put her hand against his chest lightly, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Lying there, she realized that Poseidon would always be her biggest "if." He was a god, and he had wanted her, and that was a big boost to her ego. But she also knew that Paul would never leave her. He'd never be unfaithful, and he wasn't going to live for an eternity with someone else after she died. He loved her simply because she was who she was, and she didn't have to have sight for that. Paul was, in an off way, her own Annabeth. He was the thing that kept her going while Percy was gone, and he was the thing that would keep her going when Percy was _gone_.

* * *

**A/N (part two) I hope you liked Sally. I certainly do. She's a good mom. This chapter is really just setting the stage for all the fun things that are going to happen. I don't just mean the fluffy things, either. Romance is a sub-plot, not a plot. I'm not a Harlequin writer. There will be NO lemony things happening within this story. Limey, maybe, but definitely not lemony. **

**Thanks to:**

**Guest**

**Huge Fan**

**You're wonderful people and I love you, whoever you might be!**

**Happy New Years, everybody, and be safe! If you're drinking, get your designated driver in order! And if you're spending the day like I am, at home on your computer, I'm glad I'm not the only one. **

**Please review guys. I know I sound like a review whore, but I'm writing this for you, too. I can't do that without any input. Even if you hate it, just tell me why so I can try and fix things. **

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey again! Two posts in one day? Yeah, I'm shocked, too. I've just been very inspired by all of your reviews, so you can all thank yourselves for this!**

**Disclaimer: I will never own Percy Jackson, but I'm starting to make his high school life a little crazy, don't you think?**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The next morning, Percy awoke from his deep sleep, groaning as the bright light of the morning filtered in through his window. The alarm clock reverberated on his bedside table, jumping slightly, making the most terrible noise he'd ever had the misfortune of hearing—and that included the stymphalian birds. He turned it off and slowly slid out of bed, stooping to throw on a shirt over his bare chest, and stretching out his taut muscles.

"Gods almighty," he mumbled, running a hand across his face, trying to remove the irritating sleep from his eyes. Annabeth had once told him it was actually called "rheum," though he never referred to it in that way. She had told him that it was actually snot coming out of your eyes to keep them lubricated while you're sleeping. Could he say gross in any other way?

Well, yes, actually, he could. Χυδαίος.

He padded barefoot out into the kitchen, smiling at his mother who stood in front of the stove, frying some bacon in a skillet. She wore her plaid pajama pants and an old t-shirt from one of the vacations she had taken Percy on when he was small, long before Gabe came into the picture. Her hair was tangled, knotted tightly on top of her head, and she wore no makeup. Percy thought she couldn't have been any more beautiful. Then again, he was an especially biased momma's boy.

"Mom," he said, his voice still rough. "You're the greatest."

She had mixed blue food dye with the oil in the skillet, turning the bacon fat blue.

She looked at him in a way as if to suggest that she was already well aware, and he was slow on the draw. He rolled his eyes and kissed her on the cheek before walking to the fridge and removing the orange juice carton. He poured a glass for Paul and him and then filled a cup of milk for his mother.

Sally turned off the stove and divided up the bacon onto three separate plates, along with a slice of toast and some scrambled eggs—all of which were, of course, dyed blue.

Paul sauntered into the room shortly after, tying the knot in his tie. He smiled brightly at Percy before lightly pecking his wife on the mouth.

Percy didn't watch their brief interaction, but he didn't mind it, either. In fact, he thought it was kind of sweet. He knew his mom deserved to be happy and treated right, with or without Gabe having ever been involved. Paul was the right person for her, and it was nice to see that she was the right person for him, too.

They all sat around the table, partaking in meaningless chitchat that wouldn't be remembered later that evening. Both Sally and Paul were trying to avoid bringing up the uncomfortable events of yesterday, knowing that Percy would likely get angry once again. They knew nothing they did would cheer him up, and so they left the topic untouched, something Percy was immensely grateful for.

Percy smiled, finished with his breakfast, and pushed his chair back away from the table. He took his empty plate and deposited it in the sink before slinking away to get ready for school.

He walked back into his bedroom, pulling on a pair of jeans and a clean shirt. He toed into his reliable black converse and ran a hand through his messy hair, trying in vain to tame it. Sighing, he left it alone, knowing unless he used serious amounts of hair gel, it would never lay the way he wanted it to. He brushed his teeth quickly in the bathroom before shouldering his backpack and walking back into the family room, where Paul stood patiently waiting, dressed in his slacks and blazer, briefcase in hand.

"Ready to go?"

Percy nodded before waving at his mom and walking out of the apartment behind his stepdad, who made useless chatter all the way to Goode, trying to keep from dredging up the topic better kept closed.

o.O.o

Paul parked his car in the teacher's parking lot, and he and Percy entered the building through the teacher's lounge, just like they did every morning. Two of the teacher's in there, Mrs. Gillespie and Ms. Hammons smiled at him, being two of the few teachers who _didn't_ view him as a waste of space. He waved kindly, glad that not all teachers were like Dr. Boring.

Speaking of the devil, Dr. Boring sat at one of the small tables, sipping on his tumbler of coffee and attempting to read his latest political novel. He was, however, spending his time watching Percy traverse through the lounge, careful of the adults crowding around in there.

Lisa Gillespie, upon seeing his watchful eyes, sauntered over to her dogmatist colleague and plopped down into the empty seat across from him, directly crossing his view of Percy.

"You should really be nicer to that boy, Richard," she told him, the twang she'd tried to bury resurfacing slightly. "He's a lot nicer than ya'll make him out to be. Just give him a chance."

Richard made a face of disgust. "Have you been consorting with the likes of Jackson? Were you not aware the mockery he made of my classroom yesterday morning? He very nearly caused an upheaval, and all to get attention. If this were fifty years ago, I'd be lashing at all of them."

Jennifer Hammons, who just so happened to be grabbing a yogurt from the refrigerator conveniently located from behind Dr. Boring's seat, came around and sat next to both Lisa and Richard, her eyebrow cocked.

"Rich, we all know that Percy Jackson has a record a mile long, but we also must know that he's a good kid. He hasn't done anything wrong since he's been here, not since that mix-up in the band room several years ago. He's plenty polite and he shows up to class. He doesn't talk much, but he seems to pay attention."

Lisa nodded her head in agreement. "Honestly, he's one of my best math students."

"Well, I assure you," Dr. Boring said, using his most pretentious tone, "that despite having an English teacher for a stepfather, Percy is hardly passing."

"Well, of course he is," Lisa yelled, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "He's got dyslexia, Richard."

"That's no excuse. If he were really struggling with that, then either Paul should assist him, or he should find a tutor who specializes in dyslexia. If he chooses not to get the help he needs, that's his own fault. He should be more responsible."

Jenny watched him slide his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "It's _your_ responsibility as his teacher to help him, Richard. Maybe he's too embarrassed to seek out the help he needs. A push from you might be all he needs to be an honor's English student."

Boring snorted, snapping his book closed and standing up from his spot at the table. "I will not show favoritism in my student's, Miss Hammons. Maybe that's how you handle things in your classroom. That's your business. And as far as Mr. Jackson becoming an honors student, I think I'd see Zeus himself waltz straight through my classroom door before that ever happened."

Lisa and Jenny shook their heads in simultaneous disbelief, watching as their bigoted coworker walked away from them in a flourish, slamming the lounge door behind him angrily. An old corkboard fell off the wall by the door.

Lisa walked over to it, rolling her eyes at his immaturity. She bent down and picked up the memo board and hung it back up on the peg that was stuck in the wall. An old notice, buried under newer bulletins caught her eye. It was a picture of Percy from the previous year, a smile on his face and his eyes twinkling brighter than the stars. Lisa frowned slightly, recognizing the picture from the flyers Tyler had posted up all over Manhattan when Percy had gone missing, before Paul had come back and explained everything to them. She crumpled up the useless paper, wondering to herself what had made Percy lose that sparkle and happiness she'd seen before he'd disappeared. He never smiled anymore, and she couldn't deny that it was infectious.

"What is it?" Jenny asked, watching the balled-up paper fly into the wastebasket.

"It doesn't matter. I don't think this boy exists anymore."

Jenny furrowed her brow, not quite comprehending her best friend. Knowing she had a class to get to, she let it be, but quickly grabbed the trashed paper before Lisa could notice, and headed down to her room to finish grading the pop quizzes she'd given yesterday in Science.

o.O.o

Percy walked down the hallway, feeling the multitude of gazes on his back. He ignored them, choosing to dial in the combination on his locker and exchange his books. Tyler walked up behind him somewhat nervously, his hands fitted deep in his pockets, and a red hue about his cheeks.

"Hey, Perce," he greeted, clapping him on the back slightly.

"Hey, Ty. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Percy sighed, rolling his eyes inwardly. If Tyler wasn't his best mortal friend, he would've punched him in the face. He really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone about anything today, not unless that person was Annabeth. Anymore, he found himself distancing himself from the rest of the world, holing up with her or simply thinking about her. It scared him a little bit, knowing how interdependent he was. He needed her, _really needed her_, like a person needed air. It was daunting to know that he relied so heavily on another's existence.

"I'm fine. I don't want to talk about yesterday."

Tyler nodded, pretending that he understood where Percy was coming from, though in all actuality, he had no clue.

"Well, if you ever need to talk about it with someone, I'm here, Man."

Percy stared at him for a moment before closing his locker and pivoting on his heel, ready to just go to class and block out the rest of the world. That had been his plan, at least, until Vick and his cronies made their way up to Percy, semi-circling him, with Percy and Tyler backed up against the lockers.

*****"σκατά," he muttered under his breath.

"What?" Tyler asked him, wondering once more what language Percy was speaking and what it could possibly mean.

"Nothing," Percy said, waving his hand dismissively. To Vick he said, "What do you want, Andrews?"

Vick smirked like he always did right before he either humiliated them or punched them in the gut. Percy wasn't afraid like all his other victims, and so he just stared at him impatiently, causing Vick's grin to falter slightly.

"I want to know what happened to you yesterday. What made you cry?"

"Well, if I wasn't going to tell Tyler what happened, why would I ever want to tell you?"

"Because I can make you cry again, Jackson, and this time you'll be _really _scared."

Percy snorted, and all the people in the surrounding crowd gasped quietly. No one had ever directly snubbed Vick like that, not without serious retaliation, at least. Everyone was so caught up in what was about to happen; some even had phones out filming the altercation.

"Out of everything I've seen in my life, Vick, you're just about the furthest thing from _scary_. You don't know what happened to me, so don't pretend you do. Leave it alone, and _I _won't have to hurt _you_."

Vick and his friends scoffed, though only someone like Percy, who had trained for years upon years, could detect the slight glimmer of fear in his brown eyes. Percy didn't want to hurt him, but he would if he had to. And he knew he could do it, even if no one else at Goode did.

"You swim, Jackson. I play football. Out of the two of us, who do you think would be stronger?"

_Me_, Percy thought, flexing his biceps out of reflex, bunching the material of his t-shirt. A few of the girls huddled around gasped and started whispering about how _hot_ his muscles were, but Percy ignored it, focusing instead on Vick's eyes narrowing in on his arms, surprise and doubt in them.

"I'm not a betting man, Vick," Percy told him. "If I were, though, I'd lay all my money on me. I'm not cocky, just honest."

Vick pushed his sleeves up his arms and clenched his hands into fists, his face scrunching up in anger until the vein in his forehead—the frontal vein, Percy reminded himself, thinking of Annabeth—pulsed violently.

Percy rolled his eyes, knowing he was likely about to get detention. His plan was to try and use his oblivious charm to weasel out of it, merely to avoid repercussions. It seemed, however, that that wasn't going to work here. Vick was out for blood, and he wouldn't stop until he had some. He'd find out too late that the only blood he'd be getting would be his own.

Percy sighed sadly and handed his stuff to Tyler. "Can you hold onto this for me?"

"Percy!" Tyler whispered frantically, as Percy stared at Vick. "Have you lost your mind? Vick will _kill_ you!"

Percy actually laughed. He was so used to Camp Half-Blood where the people constantly told him he was the best fighter or where people were scared to go up against him during training, he had forgotten what it was like for people to doubt his abilities. It was refreshing, though slightly cutting. Did his own friend have that little faith in him?

"Just hold it, please."

Tyler hesitated before finally nodding and taking Percy's things from him. He backed up against the locker, and Percy turned around to face his attacker, not even bothering to get into a proper fighting stance. He was going to try and avoid an actual altercation, hopefully saving them both from getting into even _more_ trouble.

Vick threw the first punch, and missed, as Percy wasn't there anymore. Percy had sidestepped. Vick tried again, barely swiping against his ribs. Percy would've normally done a lot better than that, but he _was_ in a crowded hallway. There wasn't much give and take space.

"Take the hit like a man, Jackson."

"Well, if you could _hit_ like a man, maybe I could."

Percy knew it wasn't smart to antagonize him further, but he just couldn't help himself. He'd always had a temper, and he always liked to goad monsters into attacking before thinking. It was a reflex now, involuntary, like breathing, and he couldn't turn it off even if Vick was just a human.

Vick's face turned even redder, the vein pulsating animatedly. "Shut up. Stop moving and try to hit me!"

Instead of complying, Percy stood his ground, keeping his fists down by his thighs, prepared but not bloodthirsty.

Trying one last time, Vick shot his fist up and tried to punch him in the face, but Percy caught his fist in his hand, gripping his fingers until he heard the _crack _and _pop_, indicating he'd at least broken two of them. Vick howled, jumping back, holding his limp hand delicately. Everyone watched as his fingers started turning purple and blue. Vick had tears in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall, already embarrassed by having been beat. He backed up, his rage filled face promising pain in retribution.

Percy marched down the hall towards the nurse's office and held the door open for Vick as he walked in behind him, holding onto his wounded hand.

All of their peers watched on in surprise, stunned that Percy would try and help Vick out after what Vick had attempted to do to him.

None of them could deny, either, that they were shocked Percy had been able to do that, with what seemed to be minimal effort on his part. The enigma Percy Jackson just became even stranger than he already had been.

Everyone had thought that to be impossible.

Tyler stood there, watching as all his classmates walked away, hurrying to get to their various classes before the late bell rang. He knew he would be late, but he didn't care much, not right then anyway. His mental list of curious Percy things was growing the more he spent around him, which just made him want to find out what had happened to him all the more. He turned around and opened Percy's locker, glad that he hadn't already locked it, and shoved his books inside.

Tyler wasn't generally a snoop; in fact, he liked to keep _out _of most everyone's business. He didn't like to intrude. But, in that moment, it was like some other force was controlling him, making him do things he didn't want to do. He saw a collage of pictures on the back wall of Percy's locker, held up by numerous circular blue magnets.

The first one was of Percy, clearly much younger, and two other people, a boy and a girl. The boy had curly red hair and one of those Bob Marley hats on, except instead of red, yellow, and green, it was orange. The girl was seriously pretty, though Tyler figured she was hardly a teenager, if even that. She had curly blonde hair, pulled into a ponytail, and sparkling grey eyes. Percy stood in the middle, and they all had their arms around each other. They wore the same orange shirt, though they looked dirty and faded, making it nearly impossible for Tyler to make out the print on the shirt. He'd seen Percy wear it before, but he'd never given it much thought.

He took the picture off the wall and flipped it over, hoping to get some sort of clue, but nothing was written on the back.

The next photo looked more recent. The same two people were there, as well as a girl and a boy who looked like Percy, only younger and paler, with different colored eyes. Tyler wondered if they were related to him, or if it was a random coincidence.

The one right under that had a picture of Percy and the blonde girl standing under the Eiffel Tower. Tyler didn't think Percy had ever been out of America before, and it seemed that Perce and the girl were on some sort of…_romantic encounter_. Tyler didn't think Percy had a girlfriend. He'd never been told of one, at least.

There was a picture with five new people that Tyler didn't recognize from the previous ones, as well as Percy, the similar looking boy, and the blonde girl. The first new person was a guy, tall and muscular with a short cropping of blond hair on his head. His arm was around a beautiful girl with choppy brown hair, braided randomly with little feathers, like the fad that had been popular a couple years before. Next to her was a short little guy, clearly of Hispanic descent much like Tyler. He was smiling like a lunatic, holding some sort of metal ball in his hands. There was a couple next to him holding hands: the guy was like a humanoid version of a panda bear, clearly of Asian descent. The girl was cute and small, with curly caramel hair and creamy brown skin. She looked young and fragile, but Tyler could see a sort of hard edge to her eyes. They all seemed to be standing on a boat, but Tyler couldn't be sure about that.

The last picture was of Percy and a pretty dark haired girl. Tyler started cracking up when he saw what they were wearing: purple togas. He wondered if Percy had done a summer acting job, and had a role in Julius Caesar, or something. Percy was smiling slightly, but the girl looked angry. Her arms were crossed, and two metal dogs were placed at her feet, one silver and the other gold.

Tyler wondered who all those people were, and why Percy had never mentioned them before. They were clearly all close, considering there were no pictures of him or any of the swim team in there. He thought he had been good friends with Percy, but it seemed as if he didn't really know much about him at all.

There was a lunchbox in Percy's locker, which was weird because Tyler had never once seen Percy use a lunchbox before. He always said he preferred it in a brown bag. He said it made it seem more personal that way. He'd shrugged, brushing it off because Percy was a big momma's boy, and proud of that. But then, why was that there?

Just as he was about to open it up, he saw Percy storm out of the office, Mr. Blofis right on his tail, following behind him at a rapid pace.

Tyler closed the locker quickly and ran behind the wall, curious to hear what they were saying to each other.

"…be more careful, Percy! Do you want everyone to find out?"

"Of course not, Paul, but I couldn't just let Vick beat me up. Everyone would just say worse crap about me if I gave them that chance."

"Should you talk to your father, maybe? I hate to say this, but maybe you should go stay with Ty."

A bead of sweat broke out on Tyler's forehead. As far as he had been aware, Percy didn't even _know_ his dad, let alone _speak_ to him. And Ty? Was Mr. Blofis telling Percy to go stay with him? He'd let Percy spend the night, but he was completely confused on what he had to do with all of this.

"No, I'm not going to talk to my dad. He's probably too busy. And his wife would kill me. Probably literally." Percy sighed and smacked his hand into one of the lockers. Tyler knew he'd probably break his hand if he did that, but Percy didn't even flinch. Mr. Blofis shot him a disapproving stare.

"What are you going to do then, Percy?"

"I can't wait until Annabeth gets here, Paul. I need to see her like you wouldn't believe."

Mr. Blofis sighed wistfully, smirking at Percy. "I know you won't believe me, but I was a teenager once, too, Percy. I know what it's like to be young and in love. It's an addicting thing."

Tyler couldn't wrap his brain around this new information. From snooping though Percy's locker, he'd come to the conclusion that Percy had some pretty blonde girlfriend he took to Paris. But he _loves_ her? Why hadn't he ever mentioned her to him before if that were the case?

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. All I know is, I need to see her. She's the only thing that makes everything better, Paul. She's the only reason I'm still alive right now, otherwise I would've died long ago. And during the amnesia, the only reason I didn't listen to Hera and go find my dad is because I remembered her, Paul. And while we were down there…. I don't know. If she hadn't been there, I don't think I would've been able to hold out against all of them. I more than love her. She's everything to me. She's my life, and I _need_ her."

Tyler almost gasped, completely taken away. Paul had told them Percy had been on a trip to Greece, but in all actuality, it seemed as if he'd been taken, lost his memory, and had been somewhere horrible that he couldn't escape from. He'd almost _died_? And his girlfriend, _Annabeth_, she'd been there with him? That must have been what Percy had been freaking out about yesterday, but what set him off?

Suddenly having heard enough, Tyler turned around and ran off to find his class, not sure if he could look at Percy as if he were just a person anymore. He was so much more than that now.

* * *

**A/N (part two) Hey again. I hope you all liked this. It's mostly just introducing two new characters and sparking Tyler's interest in Percy's abnormalities again. It's pretty much just a filler, but all stories need those. Plus, who can complain about two updates in less than twenty-four hours? Hopefully not you all.**

***_shit_ - Sorry if the slight cursing offends you, but this is high school. We all know what people say, and I'm trying to keep any vulgarity out of the story. If it does offend you, you can just think _crap_ instead.**

**Thanks to:**

**Anonymous**

**Guest (Calypso Jackson) **

**RascalJoy**

**Mango21**

**Guest**

**Expa**

**You're awesome, but I'm sure you already know that! Oh, and to my guest reviewer who is not Calypso Jackson, or anyone interested, Annabeth WILL be coming into the picture soon, but I have to set the scene and all that nonsense first. Her arrival will cause some drama, but it's nothing you should see coming. It's not just because she's "hot" or whatever. You'll see.**

**It's my last day off before I must return to my boring classes and whatnot, so updates will probably be a couple days apart from now on, which saddens me greatly. I've really enjoyed sleeping until noon and then writing for however long I wanted to. **

**Review please!**

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hey guys! Guess who got a snow day on their first day back? Me! So, here I am again with another chapter. You guys seem to like Tyler okay, so I hope you like the next couple of OCs I introduce. Just remember, this story is NOT about them. They're just necessary for the story arch. Please keep an open mind before you write them off completely!**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns Percy Jackson, yada yada yada. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Percy walked through the line in the cafeteria, quickly paying for an apple and a water bottle. He had the blue peanut butter and jelly sandwich his mother had made for him, but he needed more than that. People in line stared at him, some with awe and some with rage, but for the most part, all eyes were on him.

He weaved through all the tables and students, using his fast reflexes to keep from running into anyone or stepping on their toes. He eventually made it to his usual table, where the few people he actually talked to sat.

Tyler was there, of course, avoiding Percy's gaze. Jordan, another one of the guys on the swim team, also sat there, with his girlfriend Macy, and her best friend Sarah, who also swam with them.

Percy sat next to Tyler, just like he always did, with the one empty seat on his right. He sometimes stared at it longingly, wishing more than anything that it was Annabeth sitting there with him. Then their lunch table would be complete.

Well, his _heart_ would be complete, anyways.

"Hey guys," he said, unwrapping his sandwich. He ate the least desirable part—the crust—first, and left the good part to enjoy later.

"Perce," Tyler muttered.

The group stared at him for a moment before shrugging and turning back to Percy.

"I can't believe you stood up to Vick like that," Sarah smiled, showing her teeth. She was pretty and reminded Percy of the Demeter girls from back at camp; petite and kind, with soft features and a big personality. She always made him think of Katie, and the similarities between them always brought a pang to his chest. He missed camp a lot more than he wanted to admit to himself.

"It was nothing," he told her, trying to forget it had ever happened. Paul had managed to save him from getting expelled or anything crazy like that, but he hadn't been able to avoid a detention the next week. It meant he'd be staying with Vick after school with his stepdad. Paul hadn't told him why Vick was in there, only that he was, and Percy feared it had something to do with him.

"Nothing?" Jordan questioned, his left eyebrow cocked. "Were you not there? That was the best thing I've seen in a long time. I'm glad you didn't let what happened yesterday effect you today."

Macy nodded her head in agreement. "Seriously, Perce. You were all calm, and, like, "_Don't make me do this_," but he did, and so _you_ did, and it was great!"

Macy had more enthusiasm than Leo did, which was saying something. She was _always _excited and happy, talking constantly with her hands, and overusing commas in her speech.

Percy couldn't help but chuckle at her. "Thanks, Mace."

Tyler couldn't keep his mind off the conversation he'd overheard earlier in the hallways, where Percy talked to Mr. Blofis about having been taken. Tyler suddenly felt like he didn't even know his best friend at all, and was sitting there silently trying to come up with a good plan to confront him with.

"What's wrong with you?" Percy asked Tyler.

Tyler shook his head. "Just thinking about…stuff. Nothing important. Carry on with your lives as if I never said anything."

Percy shot him a look. "What the Hades are you talking about?"

Tyler mentally noted that, too. Percy never _cursed_, per say, always choosing to use a Greek Olympian's name instead. He knew Percy really liked his mythology, which was why he was confused as to why he reacted like he did in English the day before.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend, Percy?"

Percy blanched, having been unprepared for this turn in the conversation. He always wanted to keep his personal life as a demigod and his school life as a pseudo-mortal apart. He didn't ever want to tell his friends about Annabeth.

"What—what are you talking about Ty?"

Everyone at the table was watching the exchange curiously, wondering what was going on. They'd all wondered why Percy never asked out any of the girls, and Macy and Jordan had tried to set him up with Sarah many times, always for him to brush them off and hurriedly changed the subject. The fleeting thought had been that he was gay, but they knew that wasn't true, either. Percy never showed interest in anyone, male or female. Macy had actually concluded that Percy was either too narcissistic to like anyone else (and she knew he was too sweet for that to be it), or he was asexual.

"I'm just wondering. Why don't you have a girlfriend? You know most of the girls here would give a leg just to talk to you. Who knows what they'd do if you actually _dated_ one of them. Why don't you ever ask any of them out?"

Percy blushed, focusing his eyes on the tabletop in front of him. Suddenly, he wasn't so hungry anymore. He pushed his tray away from him and crossed his arms. "No reason, Ty. Don't worry about it."

Ty. Tyler thought about Mr. Blofis' suggestion of staying with _Ty_. What did he have to do with all of this? And why wouldn't Percy just tell him the truth? Not only were his feelings hurt, but Tyler was also starting to get pretty angry.

"No reason? Then who is that blonde chick you took to Paris?"

Percy froze, and Jordan, Macy, and Sarah all gaped at him, having the same thought as Tyler did about Percy taking a girl to a different country.

"How do you know about that?" Percy asked, a hard edge to his tone.

"I put your books away. You have all those pictures just hanging there, but most of them are of her. And you took her to Paris? Why didn't you tell any of us about your secret freaking girlfriend, Percy?"

"I didn't want anyone here to know about her," Percy finally replied after a few moments of silence. "There's no point," he whispered.

Tyler almost regretted bringing it up, but forged on, using the information he'd overheard to spur him on. "Why? I thought she was important to you, Perce. Don't you think she'll last?"

Percy snorted, lifting his head to look his best mortal friend in the eyes. "No, she'll last. I'm just not so sure about everyone here."

o.O.o

Sarah couldn't deny the tiny pang in her chest when Percy talked about his supposed girlfriend. She knew she wasn't the only girl in the school to have a crush on Percy, but she also knew that out of all of them, she probably had had the best chance. Now, to learn it was futile anyways, well…. She was a teenage girl. Do the math.

Macy walked her to class, her arm wrapped around Sarah's slim shoulders, trying to comfort her. She'd been just as surprised as everyone else to discover Percy had an actual relationship. Before she'd started dating Jordan, even she had had a crush on Percy, because it was nearly impossible not to. He was cute and nice, and although he had an odd sense of humor, he could always make her laugh. When she and Jordan had finally hooked up, she had tried her best to push Percy into the thin and nimble arms of Sarah, but to no avail.

A part of her couldn't deny how cute it was that he remained faithful to his girlfriend, though, whomever and wherever she might be.

"Don't worry about it, Sar," Macy said, trying to console her.

Sarah nodded her head, her face pale. "I know. I never really stood a chance with someone like him anyways." Macy opened her mouth to protest, but Sarah beat her to the punch line. "Don't do that, Mace. You know it's true. Whoever that girl is, she must be pretty amazing to mean so much to Percy."

Macy sighed, agreeing. It wasn't that she didn't love her best friend and want the best for her, because she did, but there was just something about Percy that was so…_powerful_. He had this aura about him that just made you want to back away slowly. She felt it every time she was near him, and she knew most everyone else did, too. That's why Vick's attack had surprised her so much.

_How did he not notice?_

Percy was going to be someone important, whether the world knew it or not. She could just tell. She had a feeling that he already was, to a lot of people, but she just didn't know why. She could feel that there was _one person_ who meant more to him than anyone else; she could sense his love in the way he talked about his girlfriend. She'd always hoped it was his underlying feelings for Sarah, but upon learning about his girlfriend, she realized it was her.

"Percy's just…. He's too much for anyone here to handle, Sarah. I know he's fun to look at, and he's never mean to anyone, but there's something about him that makes him nearly untouchable. There's a reason Percy never told any of us about this girl of his. I wouldn't be surprised if he was actually a secret agent."

Sarah giggled, lightly punching Macy in the arm. "Percy's not a spy, Mace."

Macy cocked a brow. "Are you sure of that? We saw how he handled Vick. Only someone trained to fight could hold him off like that, and Percy didn't even break a sweat."

"Yeah, 'cause he broke Vick's fingers instead."

"You know what I mean, Sarah. He's strong. You swim with him. You've seen him without a shirt. You know just as I do that he's _seriously_ ripped underneath all those t-shirts he wears. He's fast enough to be in the Olympics, and he can hold his breath for, like, _ever_."

"He's a good swimmer, Macy, not an undercover agent."

"You don't know that!" Macy protested, walking into their Social Studies class. Percy was already in there, staring at something on the desk in front of him.

They walked over to him and sat in their seats on either side of him.

"What do you have there, Percy?" Macy asked.

Percy sighed and cursed under his breath.

_*****__ανάθεμα? _What the heck did _that_ mean? Macy wasn't sure what Percy was saying, but she knew for certain that it wasn't English.

Percy's shoulders sagged, and eventually, he slid a photo across the desk, right in the middle so that Sarah and Macy could both see it.

It was a picture of Percy with his arms wrapped around a gorgeous blonde girl. She was smiling at the camera, but he was looking down at her, love clearly displayed in his eyes. Sarah gasped at the girls beauty, understanding why she—plain as she was—had never caught Percy's attention.

"She's beautiful," Sarah mumbled.

Percy smiled sadly. "I know. I miss her."

"Where is she?" Macy asked, her eyes remaining on the girl.

"She's in California. That's where she lives; in San Francisco."

Macy smiled despite herself. "And I'm guessing that that doesn't make you very happy, does it?"

Percy grin was wiry, and he plucked up the photo and put it in one of his folders, hesitating to close it. Right before he put his folder away, he gently laid his fingers against the girl's face.

"Of course I'm not happy about her being there. Annabeth…. She's everything to me."

"Annabeth," Sarah mumbled, jealous that the pretty blonde girl had a pretty name, too. She felt so common. She didn't think there was anything about her that was really different from anyone else. Annabeth was gorgeous, had a gorgeous name, and had a gorgeous man missing her. Annabeth wasn't common. She was _mysterious_, like Percy. Sarah could tell just from her quicksilver eyes.

"Why didn't you tell any of us about her?"

Percy shook his head. "My life is not high school. This place…it's not for me. I have a purpose, Macy, and I know everyone says that, but I actually _know_ about mine. Cheesy as it is, loving her is my purpose in life. It's all I'm supposed to do. She's all I'll ever really care about. I know I'm young. I'm seventeen. But she's been my best friend since we were twelve, and I've done whatever necessary to keep her safe. And I always will."

Macy had tears welled up in her eyes. That was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard out of a Nicholas Sparks book, and to hear it from Percy? She was suddenly so jealous of this mystery girl who had won over the special boy beside her. She really, _really_ liked Jordan, but love? She didn't love him, not yet, and she knew he wasn't there, either. Percy's obvious love for Annabeth was the most profound she'd ever seen, and she hadn't even actually _seen_ the girl.

"Percy, you have to bring her here. I want to meet her."

"Why?"

She rolled her eyes, wiping the tears away with her hands. "Silly boy. I've never known someone, let alone a teenager, who seemed to feel so much for another person. I want to meet the girl who's made you this way."

"I would introduce you if she came, but I doubt that's happening. I'd go get her right now if I thought she'd come with me."

"Why wouldn't she? If she feels for you what you feel for her, why wouldn't she want to see you, too?"

"She wants to see me, I know that. We just have some…_complicated_ family issues. Her mother wouldn't let her." He sighed frustrated, and rubbed at his temples. "She has this thing…. She ran away from home when she was young, and she's just now finally feeling welcome back at home. I don't want to ruin that for her."

"How long was she away from home?" Sarah asked. It sounded as if Annabeth had been away from home for years and had only just then decided to return home. If that were the case, where had she stayed?

Percy groaned. "Ugh. She ran away when she was seven. She didn't go back until she was twelve, when I talked her into seeing her dad again."

"Five years? Wow. Where did she stay all that time?"

Percy bit his lip indecisively. "I never wanted to tell any of you any of this," he mumbled under his breath. Macy rubbed his back, up and down, up and down, trying to convey how much she cared about him, that he could trust her.

"She wasn't alone. She had friends with her that helped her get to…this place. It's where people like us go."

"Runaways? You were a runaway, too?"

"No. Vlakas. This is difficult. I never ran away, guys."

Macy's eyes opened wide, twinkling with mirth. She began bouncing up and down in her seat, clapping her hands, and squealing under her breath. "Are you a spy, then, Percy?"

"What?" He looked surprised, as if that was the last thing that he expected to come out of her mouth. "Where'd you get that idea?"

Sarah chuckled. "She thinks you're a spy because you're strong and powerful. She thinks you've had special training."

Macy glared at her best friend. "Well, answer me this, then. If you're _not_ a spy, what does that tattoo on your arm mean? Hmm? Does it have nothing to do with an undercover government agency?"

Percy hastily tried to cover his arm up, as if no one had ever seen it during swimming practice. They all had, they'd just decided not to ever bring it up. Percy hadn't even thought about using the mist or something to cover it up.

Sarah pulled up his sleeve and looked at it, ignoring his protests. "It looks more like one of those things the Holocaust victims had, like one of those identification things. It looks more like a war hostage tattoo."

Percy paled. "Please, guys, don't ask me anything about this. Don't look into it. It's not because I don't trust you, but it's not safe for any of you to be a part of this. You could all get hurt."

While Macy was sure that Percy worked for the CIA, Sarah was beginning to think that Percy might have been sold on the black market as a child. That, or Annabeth had gotten him involved in something illegal. Something bad was happening, whatever the situation was, and she wanted to make sure that Percy was safe. Was Sally even his real mom? They didn't look anything alike, after all.

"Are you in trouble, Percy?"

He shook his head. "Just…. Don't ask, okay? I can't talk about any of this. That's why I never told you anything before. I care about you all."

Sarah couldn't keep her mouth closed. "Did _Annabeth_ get you involved in this?"

He gritted his teeth. "Don't ask, Sarah. I mean it."

"I'll take that as a yes," she mumbled.

"Leave it alone, guys. You don't know what happened, and it's better that way." His eyes were narrowed into slits, his voice coming out in a gravelly growl. "Don't ask me about it again."

They both nodded their heads slowly, scared that he would blow up again. They'd never seen him angry, not really, and he was _terrifying_. They knew then that Percy hadn't merely gotten lucky in his fight against Vick, but that Percy had gone easy on him. It was obvious that Percy was a lot stronger and more capable than any of them had ever given him credit for.

Percy raised his hand and Mr. Geller called on him. "Yes, Percy? Can I help you with something?"

"Can I be excused, Mr. Geller?"

"What's wrong?"

Percy bowed his head. "Just, please, Mr. Geller. I _really_ need to get out of this room for a while."

Mr. Geller's eyes flickered back and forth from Percy and his two female friends. He seemed to be thinking about the incident in Dr. Boring's classroom, and eventually nodded his head, indicating for Percy to grab a hall pass.

Percy snatched it off the peg on the wall and hurried out of the classroom. Whispers broke out across the room, everyone spreading rumors about what had just happened to him.

One kid turned around in his seat and looked at Macy and Sarah. "What happened to Jackson?"

They glared at him.

"None of your business, Mike. Turn around."

He rolled his eyes and started talking with his table partner again. Mr. Geller tried in vain to quiet everyone, though he too was curious about what had just happened to his student.

o.O.o

Percy stalked down the hallways, trying to find room _317_. When he found it, he opened the door and hurried in, disrupting his step-dad's class.

"Percy? What's going on?"

"I need to borrow your phone, Paul."

"What? Why? Why aren't you in class right now?"

Percy bit his lip and ignored him, opening Paul's desk drawer and pulling out his cell phone. Paul's face turned red, whether with anger or worry no one could tell. He walked over to Percy, his face expectant.

"I have to call her, Paul. I have to know that she's okay." Percy began dialing her number, knowing the risks he was taking but also knowing deep in his soul that he wouldn't calm down until he talked to her.

The entire classroom was silent, watching Percy and Paul closely. Percy had been acting incredibly strange for days, and they wanted to know what was going on with him. Teenagers lived for gossip, after all.

"Percy, that's not a good idea."

"Yeah, because it's a _great_ idea."

Paul shook his head and placed his hand against Percy's shoulder. "I know what you're going to do, Percy and you can't."

"I can do whatever I _need_ to do, Paul!" he yelled, his eyes flashing with an unrestrained anger. The skies outside darkened, and clouds rolled in front of the sun. It started to rain, and the students could faintly hear the thunder in the distance. They were surprised, because the weatherman had said it was going to be sunny all day.

"Calm down, Percy! Do you not see what you're doing?"

Percy glanced at one of the kids in the front row. His water bottle was shaking, a tiny hurricane forming in his water. Thankfully, no one had yet noticed that, too focused on the raging storm outside and on Percy.

He tried to even out his breathing, to get his anger under control, though it was difficult.

Percy bowed his head, ashamed at his rash behavior. He pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to stop the tears he felt stinging behind his lids. He couldn't believe how he was acting.

"I'm sorry, Paul," he whispered.

Paul shook his head. "Go call her, Percy, before you disrupt my class any more than you already have."

Percy smiled sheepishly, staring at all the kids that were watching his every move. "Yeah, maybe I should, _ah_, leave. I'll give you your phone back in a bit."

He slid through the door and closed it behind him, pressing _Talk_ and listening to it ringing.

"Paul?" Annabeth's voice asked quietly. "Is this about the plan?"

"What plan?" Percy asked.

"Oh, Seaweed Brain!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know it was you. Don't worry about it, okay? Now, tell me what's wrong. Why did you call?"

Percy wanted to know what the plan was, but he knew better than to push Annabeth for answers when she didn't want to give them. He decided to be honest with her and not downplay anything like he usually did when talking to her.

"I need you, Annabeth."

"Percy," she sighed through the receiver. "Please don't do this, okay? I'll see you soon enough. Just don't think about the time until I see you, just think about what we're going to do when I'm finally there."

"Anything. Everything. I don't even care if you just want to tour all the monuments and hang out at a library. I just really need to see you again. I can't take this anymore. You're more important to me than you ever were before, and it _hurts_."

He could hear the sob in her voice. "I know, Perce. I know. It hurts me, too. But it's a pain that we have to go through, just like all the other ones. We'll survive this, just like we always do. If we can beat the king of the Titans and the Mother Earth, why can't we beat the odds and make the long distance thing work?"

"Annabeth, I'm not doubting _us_, I'm doubting _me_. I don't know if I can handle not seeing you every day anymore."

"I'll be there before you know it."

Percy closed his eyes and laid his head against the cool metal of the lockers. "I'll always wait for you, Wise Girl. Always. That's the only reason I can do this, you know."

"I know. And I love you for it. I won't make you wait long, though, Percy."

"Please don't."

Percy could hear a high pitched ring through the phone and groaned, knowing that his time with his girlfriend was over. "IM me as soon as you get home, okay? I want to see you."

"Of course. I want to see you, too. I love you, Percy."

"Love you, too, Annabeth."

He waited until he heard the _click_ of her hanging up before he snapped the old cellphone closed and walked back to Paul's room. He entered and set the phone on his step-dad's desk. "Thanks, Paul," he muttered, backing out of the room.

Paul smiled at him warmly, his finger resting in the book he was reading from, as a way to keep his place. "Any time you need to use the phone, you know that you can. And we'll talk more about this at home. I think you should reconsider visiting your father."

Percy glanced at his peers before nodding. "Maybe. We'll see."

He walked out the door and took his time going back to his own classroom, not in any particular mood to hear about the Peloponnesian war. He had his own fight warring in his mind. Annabeth had practically invaded his head and taken it hostage. He wasn't capable of thinking of anything _other_ than her.

"Soon," he promised himself, thinking of what they'd do when they could finally relax in each other's arms. "Soon."

* * *

**A/N (part two) So, what did you think of Sarah, Macy, and Jordan? Sarah's not going to be hung up on Percy and try to break them up, promise. She just thinks that Annabeth is a bad guy (girl) who's trying to corrupt Percy, or something. Macy loves Annabeth already, so she's team Percabeth all the way, though I'm sure she'd be team Leo, too, if they ever meet. Jordan, on the other hand...well, let's just say, he's going to cause drama in a way NONE of you are expecting. I promise you that, too. He's not going to be falling all over her. Quite the opposite, actually.**

**OCs are NOT taking over. Don't worry.**

*** _Dammit _**

**Thanks to:**

**huge fan- Thank you! I hope Tyler finds out too! ;)**

**Mayhaah- Thanks! And, yes, it does all makes sense. I have that problem all the time lol**

**Guest- This a quick enough update?**

**Calypso Jackson- That _was_ his backup godly food. I'm glad you figured that out. And I read your one shots! They're really good! I liked emotional Percy with the joke book!**

**Author Incognito**

**InfinitePanicAttacks33**

**Mango21**

**Expa**

**RascalJoy**

**You're fantastic! Seriously. I get so nervous about posting these chapters, but I LOVE your feedback! It keeps me motivated to keep going! What would I do without you all? On my first chapter, I got so sick at my stomach that I called my brother, and he offered to write me a "sexy review" to get you all interested. I shot down that idea quickly. Brother's are weird. Thanks for not making me resort to _that_!**

**Anything else? Eh, I don't think so. Just keep me informed with your opinions and ideas. And please, don't hate the OCs! They're a little neurotic, but what high school _doesn't _have neurotic students? Mine sure does! I might just be one of them...**

**Good luck with your resolutions. Loose weight, love yourself, be nice. I hope it lasts longer than a week! JK!**

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hello again all you beautiful people! I love snow days. Aren't they the best? Anywho, here's chapter five. There's a lot of dialogue, which I'm usually not too big a fan of, but they can't communicate telepathically, unfortunately.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Percy Jackson. No surprise there. This is a FAN site, after all.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Saturday evening found Percy at a diner a few blocks from his house, sitting in a booth slurping a milkshake. His burger sat in front of him, untouched. He wasn't really in the mood to eat much anymore. That wasn't healthy, he knew that, and Annabeth would be all over his case if she knew, but he was too anxious to eat. He could feel something bad in the air.

He was waiting for Tyler to meet up with him, but he was running ten minutes late. Percy wasn't too upset, though, because it gave him time to _not_ think. He could just sit there and drink his chocolate milkshake and not worry about anything. It was the first time in a while he was at peace, despite the horrible omen he could sense coming his way.

"Would you like another one?" Jess, the waitress asked him. She was probably about his age, likely attending one of the other high schools in Manhattan. She winked at him, biting her lip. Percy wasn't oblivious enough to not pick up on her intentions, regardless of Annabeth's beliefs. As he got older, girls became more forward, and he'd learned to pick up on the signs, Reyna being the first.

He smiled at her, not unkindly, but not welcoming, either. "No thanks; just water if you don't mind."

She nodded her head and went to go get him a glass.

The bell of the little diner rang overheard and Percy looked up to see Tyler walk in, shaking his hair free of the rain, similar to a dog after a bath.

Tyler recognized him and came and slid into the booth opposite him. "Sorry I'm late, Perce. I got caught up in the rain outside. I forgot to bring an umbrella."

Percy shook his head. "No big deal. I'm still here."

Jess came back and sat the water down. She slid him the receipt, and Percy could see where the marker bled through the paper, likely where she'd written her number. He pocketed it and smiled at her, and she grinned, slowly walking away.

Tyler cocked an eyebrow at him. "I thought you had a girlfriend?"

"I do, but there's no need to hurt her feelings. It's easier to just take her number and never call her than to tell her "No" unnecessarily."

Tyler's eyes widened. "She gave you her number? Without you even flirting with her?" He thumped his fist against the tabletop. "That's not even fair. I _ask_ a girl for her number and I get a fake one. You try to repel them and they just throw themselves at you."

"They do not."

"Whatever, man, but they do."

Percy shook his head again. "Are we going to hang out, or talk about girls? Because that's not what I signed up for."

"That's what we're supposed to do, Perce. Talk about all the hot chicks we'd like to bang and then play video games. Haven't you ever hung out with people before?"

Percy blushed, not wanting to admit the truth. The only people he ever saw to hang out with were other demigods, and they never did normal mortal things. Even before he'd learned about his heritage, no one had wanted to do anything with him.

Tyler smiled sadly. "C'mon, let's go to the arcade. You need to do something normal."

o.O.o

They were walking underneath the awnings, trying to avoid the rain the best they could. Under different circumstances, such if he were alone, Percy would be walking in the open, his body adept at repelling rain. But, since he was with Tyler, he knew that would raise some eyebrows.

"I hate it when it rains," Tyler complained.

Percy shrugged. "I like it. I love the water."

Tyler shot him a look. "I know. You're the best swimmer Goode's ever seen. You could probably be in the junior Olympics already if you wanted to be."

"I don't want to be."

Tyler shook his head. "You're crazy, man."

Percy grinned, not denying it. He'd been called crazy many times, and he knew he'd acted as if he were during most of his fights.

They were walking towards the Empire State Building, and Percy glanced up, slowing slightly, seeing the hazy outline of Olympus from up above. Tyler saw him and looked up, too.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Tyler shrugged but kept on. Percy followed after him.

"Percy!" a voice bellowed from the doors of the building. He and Tyler turned around, and Percy saw a man who looked very much like him.

"Dad?" he whispered, surprised to see his dad out and about as if he were just any old mortal and not a Greek god. He ran back to the doors, Tyler hot on his trail. "What are you doing here?"

Poseidon glanced up at the building and smirked at Percy, and he instantly got the message. Council of the gods. He had never been a fan of those, mostly because every single one either seemed to lead to a huge fight or they voted on whether or not he should die.

"Everything run smoothly?" he asked, laughing lightly, though Poseidon could hear the slight tremor in his voice.

He clapped his son on the back. "Yes, nothing you need to worry yourself with. Actually, I've wanted to see you." His eyes flickered to Tyler. "I suspect you're Tyler, his friend from school."

Tyler's jaw dropped. He'd just learned the day before—through less than moral ways—that Percy actually _knew_ his dad. To see him in person, well, it was weird. It was also strange because of how many physical similarities there were between them. If Percy had a beard and laugh lines, he'd be a carbon copy of his father.

"Uh, yes, Mr. Jackson, sir."

Poseidon chuckled. "You can call me Don, Tyler."

"Don?" Tyler and Percy questioned at the same time.

Poseidon smiled, nodding. "Would you two mind if I walked with you to your destination? There are some things I need to discuss with you, Perseus."

Percy scowled, hating his real name. Poseidon laughed, and Tyler just looked confused. He wasn't aware that Percy was merely a nickname for the name Perseus. He added that to his mental list, wondering if that was one of the reasons he seemed to like Greek Mythology so much.

They all started walking again, with Percy in the middle, Poseidon on the outside in the rain, and Tyler underneath the awnings.

"What did you need to talk about?" Percy asked his dad after a pregnant pause.

"Well, Son, I know you've been having a difficult time ever since you've returned home without Annabeth. If it would help, any time you want to go and visit your brother, you're welcome at my palace."

"Thanks, Dad. And I'd like to see him, too, but isn't he kind of busy with the army, and everything?"

Poseidon smirked. "I can pull some strings and get him out for a day or two. As much as he likes leading the army, he likes you more."

"Not more that peanut butter."

"Such an odd battle cry."

Tyler walked beside them, taking everything they said in. Don lived in a _palace_? Ignoring how weird it was for someone of unimportance to live in a palace, Tyler focused instead on how someone would go about _affording_ a palace. Was Percy's father rich, then? If so, why hadn't he ever helped out Percy's mother?

Tyler wasn't even aware Percy had any siblings, but to lead an army? Who _was_ Percy's family? And what was that about peanut butter?

"Is there anything I can do for you, Percy?" Poseidon asked finally, getting to the main reason he'd wanted to see him. Even if it didn't seem like it, Poseidon really did love his son, and he showed that far more often than any of the other Olympians ever did.

Percy shook his head. "No. I just really need to see her, Dad. I'm starting to feel more dramatic than…." He glanced at Tyler quickly, wondering how he could say Zeus without making him sound crazy. "…Uncle."

Poseidon chuckled again, and lightning flashed in the sky. "No one's more dramatic than my brother. I don't know how your cousin got that title. Or any of them." He shook his head, trying to get back on track. "My point is, you have a reason to be upset, Percy. More so than anyone else, except maybe Annabeth."

"Are we talking about the amnesia?"

"Partly, yes. I know she hasn't told you exactly what happened, Percy, but I saw her. She was so broken during that time. She was ready to tear apart your aunt when she discovered what had happened."

"I'm ready to tear her apart, too."

"Be careful what you say, Percy. I understand, I do. When I learned of her plan, I fought against her, I did. I tried everything to keep it from happening. I knew your future would be even harder than it had been since you had met me, and I didn't want that for you. You deserved a break more than anyone. Now, however, after seeing the aftermath, I know that it was the right thing to do. I hate how much pressure is still put on you, how you hold up the weight of the skies on your shoulders even now, and that is why what I told you when we first met still rings true."

Percy bowed his head, remembering when his father had told him that he had regretted his birth.

"I do not regret it for myself, Percy, but for you. You've done more than anyone could have ever expected, all for your family, for strangers you hadn't even met. It saddens me greatly that you turned down my brother's gift, if not for having you by my side but for the added stress. You chose to remain in your world, and thus allotted fate to weasel its way in and take control.

"Without everything you've been through, however, the world would be a much worse place. You've done many great things for us, Percy."

Tyler furrowed his brow. Was Percy a part of PETA, or something? What great things had he done?

"Also, you should know that, for the moment at least, you can relax. I don't believe anything else unexpected is coming your way, though I'm not your cousin. I cannot say for sure. You shall be seeing Annabeth soon, however. She longs for you just as you do her."

Percy's mood brightened slightly, and he looked hopefully at his father. "Do you know something? How soon am I going to see her?"

"Give it time, Son. There are slight complications. Her mother is still vetoing against your relationship with everything she has. She finds the two of you to be _impractical _and _unwise_. You know her. Your proclamation the other night has caused quite the stir, and she's trying to keep the two of you separated. She doesn't seem to understand that she is crossing into love's territory, a place where wisdom has no place."

"You're starting to sound like Aphrodite."

"At least she is someone I can agree with about most things, my boy. The sea is not something to be controlled, Percy. Thought means very little. We're more of a rash people, you and I, and I do not find fault in that. Despite the rules, I fell in love with your mother, and I have yet to see a problem arise from that."

"Me?"

"You yourself were never a problem. It was more the complications your existence created. We've learned from you, though, that reacting like our father was not the correct choice. Trying to stop something that was inevitable was unwise, not love, and definitely not you. My brother sees that, too, through his own accidents."

"Thalia," Percy supplied.

"Despite how he acts, he is very glad she came to be, Percy. Your cousins, Nico as well, were necessary parts of the past, and everything you've accomplished would've been impossible without them. Take for instance, if she'd never assisted Annabeth, then Annabeth would not have been able to aid you through your journeys. And I'm fairly certain Nico was our only hope at persuading his father to come and help you out."

"I'm glad they've come to be, too."

"You three _are_ far closer than their father's and I. And that is good. You need friends, Percy, and you've chosen well."

Poseidon smiled over at Tyler, and the three of them stopped in front of the arcade. The god turned to face his son. "Do you remember what else I told you the first time we met?"

Percy nodded, a small grin tugging at his lips.

"Good. That remains true, as well, Perseus. You are my son, and you have proven yourself repeatedly. Hold out faith, and eventually Athena will give in. She merely loves her daughter, and wants what's best for her. Right now, she's too blind to see that that is you."

Poseidon didn't hug his son, but he did pat him on the shoulder, his toothy smile displayed openly. Percy grinned in reply and they parted ways, Tyler watching the exchange with wide eyes. He was trying to compartmentalize everything he'd heard, dissect the facts and file them in his brain. He'd gotten so much information in their walk, and he didn't quite know what to do with it all.

Tyler stared at him for a long time, and Percy stood there awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Finally, Tyler opened his mouth, asking the question he was most curious about. "Perseus?"

Percy laughed, shaking his head, and entered the arcade, Tyler following behind him.

o.O.o

Percy took a break from playing skeeball and decided to go to the claw machine where Tyler was trying to get one of the twenty-dollar bills lying on the bottom of the glass box.

"I suck at these, Perseus."

Percy lightly socked him in the arm. "Shut up, Ty." He looked at the machine, thinking fondly of when Annabeth and he had gotten Hermes' caduceus back. "My girlfriend is the best at these."

"Yeah? Well, I wish she were here. I need that twenty." Tyler gave up as the claw came back up empty-handed. "You try? I'm going to go to the bathroom."

Percy knew better than to attempt doing that the mortal way. Annabeth used math or something to do it, he knew. The Stoll's would break into the machine. Leo would invent something to go up in there and get it out for him. He knew they'd all use their gifts to get the money, so why couldn't he?

His eyes flashed around the dark room and found a water fountain nearby the machine. He hurried over there and pressed the bar, releasing the water, and froze it in the air. He maneuvered it over to the machine and let it flow through the air like a gelatin substance. He encouraged it to go up in the machine, in the shape of a hand, and had it pluck the twenty dollars from the bottom of the glass box. He moved the water hand so that it would release the money into the drop box.

Tyler came back, a smirk on his face. "You didn't get it either, did you?"

Percy waved the twenty in his face. "Here you go, though shouldn't this technically be mine? I did win it, after all."

Tyler snatched it out of his hands and looked back into the machine. "How did you do that? No, never mind. I don't care how you did that." He laughed. "Thanks, Perseus."

"I wish you'd never heard that."

"But I did, Perseus, I did."

"You're not going to shut up about that, are you?"

"Nope," he said, looking at the money in his hand. He met Percy's gaze again, afraid he was about to trespass on something that wasn't his business, but too curious to stop. "Why didn't you tell me you knew your dad? I always assumed things were rough between you two, or something. And holy, did you know you two are, like, _identical_? Because you are. He looks just like an older you."

"My family's a touchy subject, Ty. You know that. And, yeah, I look just like him. I know."

Tyler shook his head, fluttering the twenty-dollar bill around in his hand amazed. "So, what was all that stuff your dad was talking to you about? It seemed pretty intense. And really weird."

Percy pushed away from the claw machine and headed for the door. "I really don't want to talk about that with you right now, Tyler. Can we just leave the stuff to do with my family alone, please?"

"Can we do the normal thing then?"

"The normal thing?"

"Yeah," Tyler nodded. "Don't you remember? The normal thing is talking about girls and playing video games. I think the arcade is good as far as the gaming goes. I think it's time we got in touch with our feminine side, and you told me all about your secret girlfriend. Don't you?"

Percy rolled his eyes, stepping out onto the streets of Manhattan. "Are you just going to end up telling Sarah and Macy everything I tell you, too?"

Tyler widened his eyes and held up his hands in front of him. After a moment of Percy just staring at him, Tyler shrugged, nodding his head. "Probably. Macy's going to ask me if you told me anything about Annabeth, and I think, considering I'm your best friend, you should tell me. I told you all about my crush on Emily Gordon."

Percy snorted. "Everyone had a crush on her."

Tyler pointed at him questioningly. "Did _you_ have a crush on her?"

Percy shook his head. "I've liked Annabeth since we were twelve, Ty. She's been the only girl I was ever really interested in. Deep down, I knew that, even if I couldn't admit it to myself—or her—for years."

"So you've never dated anyone else?"

"Not officially. Rachel kissed me, but we both decided that neither of us liked the other that way. And there was this other girl. She said she fell in love with me, and a part of me wonders if I loved her or not. I think I was mostly just enchanted. Bad things were happening to me at that time, and she seemed like an easy escape from it all. I chose Annabeth in the end, though, and we weren't even a couple then. Annabeth's all I'll ever want or need."

"You sure, Dude? I mean, sure she's _hot_, I get that. But what if it doesn't work out between the two of you? How do you know you're serious for her? And vice versa."

"Um, I really don't know how to explain it to you." Percy worried his lip before his eyes lit up and a smile broke out on his face. "Did you ever hear that Greek myth? About how people were split in half and they spent their lives trying to find their missing part? Annabeth's my part, only she's not missing. We found each other when we were kids, Ty, and I can't imagine not being with her for the rest of my life."

Tyler whistled lowly. "That's deep, Man, and way too serious for you. You get that you're only seventeen, right? People say they're in love all the time, but high school relationships rarely ever work out. And long distance? Yeah, no offense, but it seems doomed."

"I never give up hope, Tyler. It's strongest at the hearth, at home. Annabeth is my home, and so I always have hope that we'll be together. What seems like a lost cause rarely ever actually is. You just have to wait it out and _hope_ for the best end result."

"Whatever you say, Man. I can't imagine having that mindset right now. My ideal future is pretty much just having fun. At least for a few more years. I don't want to settle down right now, only to be disappointed later on when it doesn't work out."

"It's different for everyone, Ty. It's just the only thing I know for sure anymore. Annabeth is it for me. Even if we don't work out—which we will—then I won't move on. I won't ever want anyone that isn't Annabeth Chase."

Tyler relented, choosing to keep his own opinions to himself. He didn't agree with Percy—_of course not_—but he wasn't really in the mood to try to change Percy's mind, either. He knew Percy was stubborn and likely wouldn't, anyways. It was up to him whether or not he wanted to ruin his life by falling for one girl.

They walked down the block some more, headed in the direction of Tyler's apartment.

"So how hot _is _your girlfriend?"

Percy shoved him away, laughing as Tyler fell to the ground.

* * *

**A/N (part two) So, how was it? I know, I know, there's WAY more talking than development, but it was a necessary filler chapter. You'll all understand later. **

**So, you guys seem to like my OCs well enough. I'm so very glad! That had me more worried than I can possibly say. **

**In case you're wondering, Jordan is _not_ gay. My purpose in writing this is not to create drama between Percy and Annabeth. Percabeth is my OTP. I'm not going to create a rift between them. That's just crazy talk! I said you wouldn't be able to guess how Jordan creates drama because you really can't guess. At this point, Jordan doesn't even care if Percy is dating someone, as long as he can get them to state for swimming. Jordan drama won't happen until AFTER Annabeth arrives, which, in case you're wondering, may or may not be next chapter...**

**Thanks to:**

**huge fan- Thanks so much! You really lifted my spirits. You're so sweet :D**

**Guest- Good guess, but no, he's not. Jordan's a little sneaky fellow with a little sneaky past. **

**RascalJoy**

**Cynder2013**

**Mango21**

**AvengingPhoenix**

**I appreciate your constant input so much! I really couldn't write this without your support, and I love knowing what you think about everything. Please keep it up, and if there are any questions or concerns, just let me know. **

**If you guys are in school, at least it's Friday and you have the weekend ahead of you to recuperate. If not, enjoy your last couple of days until you do return! That's my plan!**

**Thanks again everybody!**

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Hello again! I'm a little late, which I'm terribly sorry about, but I was very distracted. Have any of you seen Frozen? I know it's a kids movie, but I just absolutely love it. I've watched it a few times now. I think I've developed a weird little crush on a snow man. I have problems.**

**Anyways, Percy's not in this chapter, which totally sucks, but it had to be done. Someone _else_ is here, though. I wonder who... ;)**

**Disclaimer: PJO and HoO aren't mine. I know. What a shocker.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Tyler sat at his desk, a sheet of notebook paper and a mechanical pencil in front of him. As soon as he'd returned from the arcade, he'd hurried to his room and compiled a list of all the weird things he'd learned about Percy so far.

_Percy's Abnormalities:_

_1.) His name is Perseus. Why would Sally do that to him?_

_2.) He uses an Olympian's name when swearing. That's weirder than saying "Shitake mushrooms."_

_3.) He's either seriously into Greece, enough to own his own toga, or he doubles as an actor who doesn't wear pants…for fun._

_4.) He brings two lunches to school…and doesn't eat one._

_5.) His dad lives in a palace._

_6.) His dad's name is Don. Like the duck? Or is it a nickname for something else…?_

_7.) He has a big dramatic family. And there's someone named Aphrodite…. Like the Olympian?_

_8.) He kept his hot girlfriend a secret. What's wrong with her? Besides her choosing to date him, of course._

_9.) He's been kidnapped and he's had amnesia…and he never told anyone._

_10.) He can actually win at the claw machine._

Tyler felt a little like a stalker, but he couldn't help but want to know more about Percy. He'd tried looking him up on Google, but nothing came up except for an old newspaper story about some fugitives. Percy was weird, but he wasn't a criminal, and he'd never blown up a national monument. Tyler knew at least that much, if nothing else.

No social networking sites came up, which didn't really surprise him. Percy wasn't the most social person in real life, and didn't even share much with his friends. He'd never tell a whole bunch of strangers' personal things.

Tyler felt kind of hopeless. He'd found more dead ends than answers.

He searched Don Jackson, too, but the only thing that came up was a Dodge Jeep, which was obviously _not_ Percy's dad.

He saw no point in searching Aphrodite. All that would come up would be things about the goddess of love and beauty. That couldn't be who Percy and Don were talking about, so what was the point?

He lightly smacked himself in the face. Not only was he getting scarily obsessive of his best friend's life, but he was also really bad at cyber-stalking. He'd learned absolutely nothing from the internet. He'd have to cross Private Investigator off of his list of possible future careers, which was really depressing. Magnum, P.I. had been one of his favorite shows when he'd been little, like Scooby Doo had been for other kids his age. It was sad to learn that his sleuthing was about as advanced as Steve's was on Blue's Clues, considering how many investigative shows he'd watched growing up.

While blankly staring at his computer screen, his phone started vibrating inside his pocket. He fished it out and unlocked the screen, reading the text he'd gotten from Macy.

_Did you find anything out about Annabeth?_

Tyler didn't bother to reply, instead throwing his phone onto his bed in the hopes of forgetting all about the text. He was starting to creep himself out, and Macy playing Nancy Drew wasn't helping matters.

He shook his head, closing his laptop and standing up. He hurried from his room and went to grab a snack. Maybe some chips would clear his mind….

o.O.o

Macy's mom, who was a stewardess, had just flown in from Chicago and was staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Manhattan while she was in town. Macy's parent's had split when she was little due to irreconcilable differences, and so on the rare occasions when her mom actually wanted to visit her, she'd go and stay with her for a couple days until her dad got too panicked about her wellbeing and made her come home.

Her mom had passed out on her bed as soon as her head had hit the pillow, which left Macy awkwardly sitting on the little pullout couch in the corner trying to keep quiet. She tried texting Tyler about Percy and Annabeth, but he hadn't responded. She knew he'd read it, though. Tyler annoyed her when he wasn't making her laugh.

She huffed under her breath, sick of her mom's disinterest in her life, and stood up, headed for the door. She plucked a key card off of the nightstand on her way out, and pulled the door shut behind her, loudly, a part of her hoping she'd woken her mom up just to spite her and a part of her hoping she hadn't because she knew her mom was exhausted.

There wasn't really anywhere for her to go nor was there anything for her to do, so to prolong actually having to make a decision about her plans, she decided to take the stairs down to the lobby, knowing there were about forty stairs she'd have to take.

On the way down, she thought about Percy's girlfriend some more, glad that he had someone who made him happy, wondering what she was like. If Percy actually _was_ a spy, then Annabeth probably was one, too. Under that assumption, she pictured Annabeth as someone who wore a lot of black leather and carried lipstick that didn't have a pink lanolin bullet but an actual bullet she could shoot people with. The idea made her giggle even though she knew she was probably wrong about that last one.

Macy pushed the door open when she was on the ground floor, exiting the stairwell, entering into the bright light of the lobby. Not many people were milling about, unsurprisingly. Summer vacation had been over for weeks now everywhere, and it was too early in the fall for it to be fall break. The only people with bags checking in were a balding man and his supposed wife. One girl had multiple suitcases on a luggage trolley, trying to push it into the elevator, but her bags kept falling off.

Macy hurried over to her, bending down to pick up the girl's laptop that had slid across the tile. Instead of the apple logo on the front like she'd been expecting, it was a blue triangle. Macy eyed it curiously, standing back up and handing it to the girl.

The girl grabbed it from her quickly, startling Macy with her forcefulness, and when Macy glanced up to look at her, she let out a gasp, covering her mouth with her hands, glad she no longer held onto the laptop.

She hadn't expected to recognize the girl, and it was obvious the girl hadn't expected Macy's reaction, either.

"Annabeth?" Macy whispered.

Annabeth's hand hovered over her hip where she'd once carried Luke's dagger, a hollowness settling in her chest when she realized it wasn't there and that the only weapon she had with her—a dagger she'd borrowed from the weapons shed until she could find a better replacement—was in one of her bags. It had been stupid to not keep it on her; stupid to not anticipate an attack, but Percy hadn't had any problems in a while, so she'd hoped she wouldn't either.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

"Who are you?" she growled out, dropping everything that was in her hands, including the laptop. She hoped it wasn't broken; Leo had worked hard to nearly duplicate Daedalus' the best that he could, uploading all the projects she could remember, even adding a few of his own ideas for her. It would be a shame if it were destroyed.

Annabeth stared at the brunette girl in front of her, looking her up and down critically. She knew better than to assume she wasn't a monster just because she was harmless _looking_. Most monsters didn't act like a monster until too late. She hadn't suspected Luke of betraying camp—of betraying _her_—until he'd almost killed Percy. Appearances could be deceiving—and they usually always were.

Macy didn't say anything; instead, she just stood there staring in wonder at Percy's girlfriend. She wasn't what she'd expected at all. There was no leather, no makeup, and no crazy foreign accent. She was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, normal teenager attire, her face clean of any chemical coloring or animal fat. She didn't seem bubbly or funny like Percy usually was, like the kind of girl she assumed would be with him. She was unexpectedly fierce, serious and cold in a way Macy hadn't anticipated, even if she _was_ a spy.

"Tell me your name!" Annabeth hissed, crouching into a position that would allow her to spring into action if need be.

Macy shook her head, startled out of her reverie. "My name's Macy."

"How do you know _my _name, Macy?"

"Percy. He—he showed me a picture of you."

Annabeth furrowed her brows. "What are you talking about? How do you know Percy?"

"He's my friend. We go to Goode together."

Macy was trying not to look terrified, though her stomach was in her throat. Annabeth looked as if she were about ready to kill her.

"You're friends? You're not…." Annabeth trailed off. If, in fact, Macy was _not_ a monster, she couldn't just ask her if she were a _mortal_. That would just make her look crazy, and if Macy _was_ Percy's friend, she couldn't afford to look crazy.

Macy's eyes brightened. "I'm not a rogue agent, or anything! Promise! I'm a normal citizen."

Under her breath, Annabeth whispered, "Rogue agent?" confusedly, not understanding the direction the conversation had taken at all. What _had _Percy told his school friends?

"Okay…?" said Annabeth. "What are you doing here, then?"

Macy held her key card up. "I have a room upstairs."

Annabeth eyed her bags, and then looked back at Macy curiously. "Would you help me get my stuff to my room? I have too much for the trolley, and I can't carry it all myself."

Macy nodded quickly. She didn't have to wait for Tyler to reply to her text; she could just learn about Annabeth herself from the actual source, which she preferred. She hated going through a middleman, especially one like Tyler. Who knows what kind of information she'd get from him?

"Of course. What floor are you on?"

"The fourth. Room 405."

That was right across the hall from Macy's mom's room. It was both convenient and unfortunate.

"We're neighbors then. I'm in room 406."

Annabeth was wondering why Macy was staying in a hotel room. Was her family living there during a remodel to their house? Was their apartment being fumigated? She couldn't imagine why she would be living there, and while she wanted to know so badly, wanted to know so that her desire to know everything would be satiated for the time being, she knew it wasn't her place to ask, even if Macy _was_ good friends with Percy.

Maybe she'd just ask Percy, instead.

The elevator doors closed behind them. A heavy air of discomfort settled over them as they stood on opposite sides, the trolley between them, avoiding each other's eyes, waiting for the final ding that alerted them to their floor.

Finally, Macy asked, "Does Percy know you're here? He said you weren't coming any time soon."

"Um, no. It's supposed to be a surprise." Annabeth bit her lip, finally looking at her fellow passenger. "You're not going to tell him, are you?"

Macy shook her head. "Not if you don't want me to. Besides the fact that you're really super scary, it'd be nice to see him happy again. He hasn't been happy in a long time, and it's obvious that it's because you haven't been with him."

Blood rushed up to Annabeth's cheeks, dying them crimson. She knew Percy had been struggling since they'd gone their separate ways over the summer. That was the whole reason she was there, after all. And while it might have meant she was a bad person, she was glad to know that he was unhappy because she wasn't there beside him. That was the same reason she had been unhappy, too.

The elevator stopped and the red "4" flashed on the little screen above them. The doors slid open, and Macy led Annabeth to her room, her arms full of various items that wouldn't stay on the cart.

Annabeth pushed her card into the slot, waiting for it to light up green. Then she pushed the door open and pulled the trolley in behind her, while Macy made sure the door was open all the way for her. Annabeth unloaded all of her things off the trolley and Macy set the things she was carrying down on the desk by the television, looking around. It was the same as her mom's room, only instead of two full beds there was one queen.

"Nice."

"It'll do for the moment."

Macy fidgeted with her fingers, not sure what else she should say. She racked her brain trying to come up with something Percy had said about her, and thought she'd try and be polite when she remembered that Annabeth was from San Francisco.

"Do you want me to show you around New York?"

Annabeth laughed. "I lived here for five years when I was younger, and I spend every summer here. I know my way around."

"I'm guessing you know how to get to Percy's, then."

"Yeah. I went apartment hunting with Sally and Paul before they got married a few years ago."

The awkward silence returned. The two stared at each other again.

"You're Percy's friend," Annabeth mumbled, "so we should try and be friends, too."

Macy smiled, glad that the blonde wasn't kicking her out of the room. Even if Annabeth had a license to kill, Macy wanted to spend time with her and learn all about her. It was the first time she was getting a behind-the-scenes look at Percy's life, and it was very exciting.

"I'd like that."

"Me too."

o.O.o

Macy ended up staying over at Annabeth's for a couple hours. She was perched on the bed as Annabeth went around putting things in drawers and putting a couple plastic baggies in her refrigerator. She asked if she could have one, thinking they were lemon squares, but Annabeth told her she had an intolerance for swallowing pills, and so she baked her medication into her food. Macy didn't ask again.

Originally, Macy had wanted to find out about their relationship, about how Percy was before she'd become friends with him, but the more she talked to Annabeth, the more she realized she actually really liked _her_ as a friend. She wanted to know more about Annabeth than she did about Percy, at least right then she did, and so they talked, going back and forth about their favorite things and their interests.

"So you like architecture?" Macy questioned her new friend.

Annabeth nodded. "I love it. I want to be an architect when I'm older." She stacked a few of her architectural books up on the desk next to her textbooks on Grecian temples. Macy eyed them, wondering what she saw in Percy who hated learning.

"You know Percy hates reading and everything, right?"

Again, Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, of course I know. But he tries for me, which is more than I should expect of him. We give and take in our relationship. It's an equal partnership. I swim for him, so he reads for me."

"He's crazy fast in the water. Why doesn't he want to go to the Olympics? He'd totally win."

Annabeth flopped down in one of the cushioned chairs. "Percy's never really planned for the future in that way. He plans for _our_ future, but not his _academic_ future. School's never been his favorite place."

"Well," Macy sighed, "I don't blame him for not liking school. Most people aren't very kind to him there."

Annabeth's eyes flashed, reminding Macy of lightning when it struck the earth. It was nice to see how fiercely protective she was of Percy, even if the look on her face terrified her.

"I heard he broke that one guy's hand, the one that's already been antagonizing him for a while now. His name is Vick, I think." Annabeth's face curled up in disgust as she said his name, as if "Vick" was a curse that burnt her mouth on the way out. Macy understood the look, though. She had hated Vick ever since she'd met him back when they were in the sixth grade, and he'd never said anything bad about her.

"Yeah, Vick's a jerk. He deserved worse, but Percy helped him afterwards. He even tried not to hurt him. No one knew he could fight though, so that's probably why Vick didn't back off when Percy warned him."

Macy smiled as she saw the soft look come over Annabeth's face, a grin playing at her lips. "He's always been too nice to people who don't deserve it. That's one of the things that I love about him. Even me, even when I'm horrible to him, he's always sweet. It's infuriating."

They shared a laugh, and the feeling in the room was much unlike it had been earlier, when Macy had first entered behind Annabeth. There was no longer any uncomfortable silence, no longer a hesitation to ask normal questions. Macy felt as if she'd bridged the great divide. She could now make friendly chitchat with Annabeth, meaning they were friends now. She felt as if she could do anything.

A phone rang, and Annabeth fumbled for her little cheap flip phone she'd had for years now in case of an emergency. She glanced at the caller ID, smiling when she saw the name on the little blue screen.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain."

"Hey, Wise Girl. I missed you."

Macy's head was reeling. Who was Seaweed Brain, and why did Annabeth react that way to talking to him on the phone? Was she _cheating_ on Percy after they'd just spent two hours talking about him?

"I missed you, too. What's up?"

"I talked to my dad."

"What? Seriously?"

Macy jumped a little at Annabeth's anxious voice, wondering who the jerk was on the other end of the line and wondering what he could have said that had gotten such a rise out of her.

"Yeah," Percy said, and Annabeth could hear the grin in his voice. "He wanted to talk to me about Tyson…and you."

"Me? What about me?"

"Your mom's upset. She knows about our future engagement, and she still doesn't like me."

"Why do you sound so happy about that?"

"Forbidden romance! How awesome is that? We defy the gods and get a happily-ever-after!"

"Most forbidden romances end in death. Just look at Romeo and Juliet. Those idiots snuck around and kept secrets and ended up killing themselves."

Forbidden romance? So Annabeth _was_ cheating on Percy. Macy's heart nearly crumbled in her chest. She'd been so excited to make a new friend, to meet the love of Percy's life, but now she was going to have to go and tell him that Annabeth was a liar and that he deserved better. She knew it was the right thing to do, but she dreaded it.

"Yeah," Percy agreed, "but we could still get married in secret!"

Annabeth snorted. "We're not eloping."

Macy was too angry to sit there any longer, to hear about Annabeth's infidelity, and so she stood up, marching away. Just as she was about to leave, to walk out the door and ruin Percy's life, she heard Annabeth calling her back.

"Hold on, Percy," Annabeth said, standing up and turning the corner to see Macy standing there gripping the handle, a shocked look on her face. "One of my…friend's is about to leave. Can I IM you in a few minutes?"

Macy watched as Annabeth flipped her cell phone closed and shoved it in her pocket, a worried look on her face.

"Are you okay, Macy?"

"You were talking to Percy?"

Annabeth looked dumbfounded. "Well, yeah. Is that why you look upset? I know it's rude to talk on the phone in front of people, but I haven't talked to him today. I didn't think you'd mind _that_ much."

A giggle escaped Macy's lips. "I thought you were cheating on him!"

Annabeth was shocked. She hadn't been expecting _that_ answer. She'd never even thought about cheating on Percy, never even _considered_ anybody else.

"_Why?_"

"You called him Seaweed Brain, talked about forbidden romances, and told him you weren't eloping! I thought you were talking to some other guy! I didn't know you and Percy were talking about…" Macy looked around the room as if someone else might be there. Under her breath, she whispered, "Marriage!"

Annabeth snickered at Macy. "I told you he likes planning for our future! What did you think that meant?"

"I don't know! Prom, maybe?"

Annabeth shook her head in amusement. "I have to call Percy back, so you have to leave, but I'll see you on Monday at school, okay?"

"You're going to Goode?"

"I'm here for Percy. Of course I'm going to school with him."

Macy turned around and opened the door, stepping over the threshold. "Okay, well, I'll see you then." She turned around, just as Annabeth was about to shut the door. "We'll talk more about Prom later."

"We'll see," Annabeth relented, closing the door.

Macy walked across the hall and opened the door to her mom's room. Her mom was just waking up, her arms raised above her head in a stretch, a yawn escaping her mouth. She looked behind her when she heard the door latched, and she smiled tiredly as she saw Macy standing there.

"Where'd you go?"

"I just hung out with a friend."

"Oh, well, if you have plans—"

Macy shook her head. "I'd rather hang out with you."

Macy's mom pulled her in for a hug, which she hadn't done earlier when they saw each other for the first time in months. Macy relaxed into her mom's hold, just like she had when she was really little.

"I'd like that."

"Me too."

* * *

**A/N (part two) So, what did you guys think of Annabeth? She's a little OOC, but she's more difficult to write, I think. At least for me. I had a little trouble trying to get into her mindset. At least she's here now, and she already has a friend! **

**You got a little bit of Macy's back story. That won't be happening too often, but it was, as I always say, necessary. Her mom's kind of a jerk, but not everyone can be as awesome as Sally. **

**Tyler's really setting things into motion, too. It doesn't look like much, but he's getting all the edge pieces together, and he's going to be starting on the rest of the puzzle later on.**

**By the way, I seriously hate Romeo and Juliet. The Bard's awesome and everything, but I think it's a horrible representation of love. Plus, the only thing I really learned from Romeo and Juliet was that "biting your thumb" was symbolic of flipping someone off. Oh, and men should _never_ wear tights. But that was kind of a given.  
**

**Thanks to:**

**marshaz333**

**MahnoorAppleAnsari**

**RascalJoy**

**Expa**

**Mango21 **

**Guest- Thank you so much! My story thanks you. I hope the wait wasn't too long!**

**Guest- Thanks! I'm trying to keep this up. I'm super sorry I'm late though, and that I missed a day.**

**You're all my favorite people! It's difficult to average four thousand words per chapter, which I'm trying to do nearly every day, but you guys really make me want to. You're all to thank for my madness! Well, you and my mom. She's been freaking out about the weather, so I have to hide in my room sometimes to avoid a spiel about the pipes busting or the basement flooding. That's when all this happens! **

**Also, it's only a week until my birthday! I'm almost allowed to drive! WOOHOO!**

**Any problems, questions, or concerns, please review and tell me what's up! I need to know what's going on in your heads!**

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Hiya! How is everyone today? I know it's Monday, but I've always liked those better than Tuesdays. **

**The Percabeth Reunion is happening, people! It's right below this! ARE YOU READY?**

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own this. Get down there and read about Percy and Annabeth!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The weekend came and went quicker than Percy would've liked, but he knew it was inevitable. He only had a little less than two years left…of high school. He knew Annabeth would make him go to college, but he tried not to think about it too much. Besides the fact that he didn't care much for school and they didn't seem to care for him, either, he had absolutely no idea what he could do. His only talents were sword fighting and saving the world….

Not that he could put that last one on his transcripts.

The morning went about as it typically did, only Paul had had to leave early, having a Parent-Teacher meeting he had to get to. Whenever Paul couldn't drive him to school, Percy usually skipped out on breakfast with his mom and instead walked to the little coffee house that was on his route to school, where he'd get a coffee and a muffin.

"Percy," Sally called, just as he was about to head out the door.

"Yeah, Mom?"

She smiled at him and caressed his cheek. "Get an extra muffin, just in case you get hungry, okay?"

He looked at her funny, but agreed nonetheless. He didn't know why she was acting so strange, but she definitely was.

"Sure, Mom. I'll see you later. Love you."

"Love you, too, Percy! Have a good day at school!"

He smiled back at her before turning on his heel and walking away.

He made it to Central Perk in record time, and made his way to the counter. The barista behind the cash register was a man not too much older than he was, wearing a little apron. He looked tired, and his eyes were bloodshot, so Percy assumed that he'd been relying on the caffeine to keep him awake.

"What can I get for you?" the guy asked him sullenly, yawning through the sentence.

Percy shot him a sympathetic look before placing an order for a coffee and two blueberry muffins, though they weren't, unfortunately, blue.

The man nodded, before turning around to get him his coffee and brown paper bag. Percy stepped to the side and tapped his fingers against the glass countertop while he waited, humming a tune under his breath that he didn't quite recognize.

The barista handed Percy his bag of goodies and his coffee, taking Percy's money and depositing it in the cash register. While he was counting out the change, he smiled at a patron behind Percy who Percy couldn't see. Percy opened his bag and pulled out one of the muffins, unwrapping it and pinching off a piece.

"What may I get you, Miss?" the barista asked.

"Hmm…" the girl pondered, "I think I'll have a seaweed…brain."

While the barista stared at her oddly, Percy was trying not to choke on his muffin. He turned around and saw Annabeth, smiling crookedly up at him as if it were normal that she was in the same coffee shop as him.

"Annabeth?" Percy murmured, having finally swallowed the blueberry morsel.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain. Miss me?"

He dropped everything in his hands: his muffins, his coffee, and the money he had gotten back from the barista. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her middle, squeezing her tightly, never wanting to let go of her. Percy pulled back only so that he could kiss her, their lips meeting in a chaste, love filled touch, making the butterflies in Annabeth's stomach flutter.

"What are you doing here?" he finally asked against her lips, his eyes filled with tears, though he let none spill. "Why didn't you tell me you were here? When did you even _get_ here?"

She chuckled, pulling out of his arm and picking up the seventy-five cents Percy had dropped. She pocketed the money before apologizing to the man for the mess. Annabeth grabbed the muffin bag in one hand, and Percy's in the other, and she pulled them through the doors and out onto the sidewalk.

Percy couldn't help himself, grabbing her face to kiss her again, laying soft pecks all over her face: her nose, her cheeks, her forehead, her eyelids. He then kissed her once more on the lips, slipping his tongue into her mouth, smirking against her lips as she moaned into him.

Annabeth pulled black glaring, her arms crossed, though there was obviously a lack of heat in her eyes. She was finally calm again, ready to breathe, all because she was back at Percy's side, right where she belonged. She could tease him, make him sweat, because that was her role as his best friend, but she couldn't deny the racing of her heart after they separated, either.

"Do you want me to answer your questions, or are you just going to keep kissing me?"

Percy shrugged, grinning. "Either sounds like a pretty good plan to me." He gripped her waist. "I really want to kiss you again, though."

She shook her head, a smile playing at her lips, and she stepped backwards, out of his hands. "No, Percy. We have to get to school. I can't be late on my very first day, now can I?"

He stared at her, stunned, his face slack jawed. "You're going to Goode with me? Does that mean Paul already knew about this?" He thought back to his phone call with her on Friday. "Was this that plan that you two were keeping from me? When you told me…. You were already coming back?"

She nodded her head. "Of course. Athena always has a plan, Percy. And I must say, I'm quite proud of you, figuring all of that out on your own."

He flicked her on the nose, interlocking his fingers with hers as he pulled her in the direction of Goode.

"I just can't believe you're actually here. I've missed you so much, and I don't even know how to tell you exactly how happy I am to have you back with me."

Annabeth blushed, leaning into Percy's side so he could wrap his arm around her as they walked. "I've missed you, too, Percy. It's been so hard. I didn't even think about the consequences of coming out here. Paul just told me how bad things were getting for you, and I couldn't _not_ come."

"What consequences are you talking about?"

She sighed, tucking a curl behind her ear. "My mother's not going to be happy about this. Like you said, she still doesn't approve of you." Annabeth looked up at him, a sad expression painted there. "And I kind of…didn't tell my dad. He probably thinks I just ran away again." She saw that Percy was about to protest, so she placed a hand on his chest, shaking her head. "I knew that if I told him I was coming back to be with you, he wouldn't be very happy. He likes you, Percy, but he doesn't like what that means."

"What do _you_ mean?"

"Remember when we were twelve; on that wilderness kindness bus?"

Percy slowly nodded his head, not sure where she was going with that.

"I told you that I would be by your side, no matter what my mother decided to do. He knows that that applies to him, too, Percy. I'll always choose you, and coming here sealed that for him. He probably won't ever let me back into his life."

Percy stopped walking and wrapped her back up in his arms. "Then it's his loss, Annabeth. He doesn't deserve you, and he never did." He tilted her face up so that their eyes met. "But you should know, no matter what you choose, I'm on your side, too. I'll always support you."

Annabeth brought his face down to kiss him again. She wasn't generally one who wanted to show people her physical relationship, not unless it was by judo flipping them over her shoulder. Coming back, however, seeing Percy again, it made her throw caution to the wind. She didn't care about anything but him anymore, and while that worried her, she wasn't going to let it stop her from being happy.

Percy leaned down so that his forehead rested on Annabeth's, the both of them just staring into each other's eyes, green on gray.

"Can we please keep the heavy stuff to a minimum for now?" Percy pleaded playfully. "I want us to solve all of the world's problems later, after I've gotten to enjoy having you back with me. Plus, it's too early in the morning for me to think clearly."

She laughed, and they resumed walking.

"It's always too early for you to think clearly, Seaweed Brain."

o.O.o

The two of them carried on towards Goode, joking and shoving each other around, just as the best friends that they were. Every now and then, they'd throw in a kiss, just because they could and they felt like it.

When they finally made it to the school, everyone milling about on campus stopped whatever they were doing to stare at the couple walking up the walkway. They wondered who the girl was, wondered how long she and Percy had been a couple. They wondered, maliciously, how long he'd be able to keep her, thinking of his freak out in English from the week before.

Percy and Annabeth held hands the entire walk up the stairs and into the building, ignoring all the people around them. They weren't even aware of all the eyes on them, lost in each other instead.

He started to tug her in the direction of his locker when she stopped him, shaking her head with a smile on her face. "I have to get my schedule, Percy. I don't even know my classes, yet."

Percy grinned sheepishly. "I kind of forgot about that. I guess we should go get your schedule, then."

He led her into the office, ignoring her smug look, and asked the secretary, Miss Russell, to locate Annabeth's information.

Miss Russell, who'd always found Percy to be extremely sweet, smiled kindly at him and his hand that gripped Annabeth's. She loved how, every now and then, a handful of young men treated their girlfriends right. Looking at the two of them, she could see a lot in their eyes: friendship, trust, humor, pain, and love. They'd been through a lot together, she'd be willing to be, and it warmed her.

"Here you go, Miss," she said, handing Annabeth her various papers. "Now, as for your locker assignment, there are currently no free ones. You're going to have to share with another student. I can look up another girl without a locker—"

Annabeth and Percy both shook their heads concurrently.

"No," Percy answered. "She can share with me."

"Of course, Percy." Miss Russell looked up at Annabeth. "The locker is 600. I'm sure Percy will be showing you the way."

Percy nodded.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Annabeth returned, smiling at her, before being pulled out of the room by Percy. Miss Russell couldn't help but laugh at the two of them.

Percy plucked her schedule out of her hands, and struggled to read it. He had to stop walking and put his finger on the paper to even make out any of the words, a fact which embarrassed him. Annabeth smiled empathetically, understanding exactly how he felt, having had done that all of her life, as well.

"I think we have the same schedule. It looks like mine."

Annabeth grinned up at him. "Well, I did request for as many of my classes to match yours as possible. I don't think I could stand being so close to you, and not being _close_ to you."

Percy wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her lightly on her hairline. "I know. I'm so glad you're with me."

He showed her to their locker, and she raised an eyebrow at the trash inside. "You do realize I'm going to be organizing this at some point today, right? I will not be putting my blueprints in…." She waved her hand around, motioning towards the crumbled papers and chocolate wrappers. "That."

He shrugged uncaringly. "I expect nothing less from you, Wise Girl. Clean away. You can throw everything that's not a book away. Just, you know, don't touch the pictures."

She suddenly noticed the multitude of pictures on the back wall of his locker, and her heart clenched at seeing the pictures of her he had in there. Annabeth placed her hand against the picture of the two of them and Grover after retrieving the Lightning Bolt back when they were twelve. "We were so young then. I never thought that any of what's happened would've."

"I know. It's been five years, but it feels like so much longer. We were just friends. I didn't even know about the war or even Kronos here. Luke was still…."

Annabeth sighed, bowing her head. Despite having moved on, having fallen for Percy completely, she still hurt.

"I'm sorry," he apologized softly, stroking her cheek.

"No," she murmured, wiping at her eyes. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Luke's dead, Percy. I know that."

His eyes were so sad as he stared back at her. "You don't have to pretend to be stronger than you are, Annabeth, not with me. I know how important he was to you. It used to hurt me when you talked about him, but…it's different now. I know you love me."

"I do. It's just hard sometimes, Percy, knowing that he was such an important part of my life for so long and now he's not even _alive_. It's only been a little over a year."

"The eighteenth is a hard day, isn't it?"

She sighed again, rubbing her eyes. "It's your birthday, and our anniversary, and the day we ended the war, and the day so many people died…. It's both good and bad, Percy, and it's just difficult not focusing on the bad part, while still remembering everything good that happened."

"I know. I know. Trust me, I do. I spent so many years knowing that in the end something bad would happen. I just always thought it was going to be to me, not to everyone else."

Annabeth closed her eyes, trying to get rid of her tears. She hated how completely weak she seemed, how she was starting to cry more and more as she grew up. She'd never been one to cry when she was younger; she'd never really shown any emotion at all, except a little arrogance when the time called for it. But so much had happened…. She was just no longer in control of her tear ducts.

"Don't say things like that, Percy. If it _had_ been you…. I don't know where I'd be, I don't even know if I'd still _be_ at all."

Percy pulled her into another hug, stroking her hair and murmuring into her ear. He told her how he felt about her and all the things he wanted the two of them to do together. It had become a habit of theirs, to comfort the other by making promises of the future. Annabeth had originally been against it, saying they likely wouldn't survive that long the way their luck would have it. Percy had just smiled and continued telling her about their married lives, just like he was currently doing.

A small voice cleared their throat, and the hugging couple broke apart to stare at the little brunette in front of them.

"Macy," Percy said, not understanding what she wanted.

She rolled her eyes, placing her fisted hands against her hips. "Hey, Annabeth," she said, a small grin playing at her lips.

Annabeth smiled back at her. "Hey, Macy."

"Are you ready to talk about prom?"

A snort escaped Annabeth. "I really don't think Percy and I will be going to prom this year. Or any year."

Macy pouted slightly, her eyes downcast, before noticing that Percy and Annabeth were holding hands. It reminded her of part of her conversation with Annabeth from Saturday.

"Can we talk about your wedding, then?"

Percy's eyes widened. "Have you guys met before, or something?"

Macy giggled. "We met on Saturday, when she moved all her stuff into her room at the Holiday Inn."

Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's hand. "Well, you're obviously moving out of there and into my apartment. You can't stay there, where anyone could just break in and hurt you, or something. You have to stay with me. We have to be together."

Annabeth rubbed soothing circles with her thumb on the back of his hand, trying to calm him back down, feeling his pulse in his wrist slowly lessen back to its normal state, no longer racing out of control. She loved how responsive he was to her touch.

"Of course. I just had to get here before the week started, and I couldn't just move in with you there. You may be a Seaweed Brain, but even _you_ would notice that."

Macy squealed. "You two are adorable. Seriously. Quantico must be so proud of you! You're probably their star couple team!"

Annabeth looked questioningly at her boyfriend, who was rubbing his face with his free hand. It reminded her of what Macy had said on Saturday about not being a rogue agent.

"What?"

"Macy thinks we're spies."

Annabeth looked back at Macy. "What?"

"It makes sense."

Percy shook his head. "It really doesn't, Macy. I don't know why you think that."

"Well, it's more likely that you're a spy than it is that you were in a war, right?"

Percy met Annabeth's eyes, a nervous flash in them. Annabeth released his hand, crossing her arms across her chest the way she did when she felt trapped. It always made her feel less exposed and made her look more dangerous when she did that. Even if Macy _was_ a friend, she couldn't risk exposure.

"We're not spies, nor have we been in a war."

Macy mutely nodded, silenced by the return of Scary Annabeth, her least favorite version of her friend.

"Got it."

The three stood there in a semi-uncomfortable silence until Annabeth saw a familiar face that made her smile.

"Paul!" she called, seeing Percy's stepdad making his way towards them, a smile on his face as well. She lightly hugged him with her left arm, her right arm already wrapped around Percy's, his hold unrelenting.

"Hello, Annabeth. It's wonderful to see you again."

Percy lightly socked him in the arm. "Remember when we agreed to not keep any more secrets between us? I think denying me the knowledge that _my girlfriend_ was coming back here was a secret."

Paul patted his stepson on his shoulder, glad to see him back to his old self. It had been so long since either he or Sally had seen him happy and smiling. It was a great relief to know that Percy was still in there, that he'd survived everything he'd been through. Paul knew he wouldn't have made it himself, if he were in Percy's place.

"It was your mother's idea to keep it a surprise. You can fuss at her for that." He smiled slightly at Percy and Annabeth. "All I did was call Annabeth to invite her to come stay with us."

Percy thanked his stepdad, and the three teenagers watched as he walked off, back to the teacher's lounge.

As Annabeth was rifling through her backpack, depositing books into her and Percy's locker, rearranging things and trashing empty candy wrappers, Percy played with a curl of her hair. Macy watched the two of them interact, wondering what it would be like if Jordan loved her so openly, what it would be like if his eyes shown the way Percy's did when he looked at Annabeth, wondered what it would be like if her name sounded like a sweet caress coming from his lips such as how Percy said Annabeth's name. She wanted to know what love was like, because she didn't have it.

Tyler bounded in the front doors, stopping only once when he saw Mr. Bell, the shop teacher, eyeing him. Tyler and Mr. Bell had an ongoing intolerance of each other, mostly because Tyler loved to antagonize Mr. Bell, and Mr. Bell loved to give Tyler detention. They stayed out of each other's hair when they didn't share a class.

Percy saw his best mortal friend hurrying towards them, and smiled at him. He elbowed Annabeth gently in the side, getting her attention, her still deeply engrossed in their locker arrangement.

"Annabeth, this is Tyler. Tyler, this is Annabeth."

Tyler's eyes widened. "Holy, Perseus! Your girlfriend _is_ hot."

Annabeth cocked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Percy playfully glared at Tyler, but not because he'd complimented Annabeth. He knew how beautiful Annabeth was; he'd always known that, even when they were kids. It was just blatantly obvious. Any fool with eyes could see that. It didn't bother him, as long as Tyler respected her. What bothered him was that Tyler was _still_ calling him Perseus, even though he knew Percy didn't want to be called that.

"Oh," Tyler said, realizing he had been tactless. "Sorry. _You're_ hot. I'm sure you don't like being talked about as if you're not even here. I know I don't."

Annabeth made a face at him, realizing he was going to be one of those people she either liked or hated completely.

Percy grinned, knowing how much Tyler's immaturity was going to annoy his girlfriend. It _had_ taken him himself a while to win her over, and when he finally did, it was still kind of touch-and-go.

If nothing else, the rest of the year would be interesting.

Annabeth and Macy started up a conversation, much like some they'd had on Saturday, mostly just getting to know each other better. Tyler and Percy were talking about other silly little inconsequential things, nothing that really mattered enough to Annabeth to eavesdrop on. However, even though he was busy chatting with Tyler, his hand never left hers. He even randomly played with one of her curls, pulling on it like a slinky, watching it spring back up. No matter what, he made sure Annabeth was with him the whole time, irrationally afraid she'd disappear if he let go.

When the five minute bell rang overhead, people started scrambling around, all hurrying to get to their various classes on time. Tyler waved goodbye and said he'd see them all later, and sprinted towards Mr. Gellar's room, knowing it was on the other side of the building.

"C'mon, Wise Girl," Percy hummed, tugging on her hand. "I want to introduce you to Ms. Hammons. She's one of the only teachers who doesn't hate me."

The two waved at Macy, rushing off to their Algebra II class.

The two rushed away, arm-in-arm, blissfully unaware of the people staring at them, mouths agape. Macy just laughed to herself, wishing that her relationship was even a tenth as real as Percy and Annabeth's, knowing that it probably never would be, and somehow accepting that truth. For her, it was great enough to know that people did love that much, even if her boyfriend wasn't one of them.

* * *

**A/N (part two) So, what did you all think? They've reunited and it felt so good! I'm pretty sure that's sort of a song from That So Raven, but I could be mistaken. Whatever. ARE YOU GUYS AS EXCITED AS I AM ABOUT THIS? Probably not, but now I can finally get to the exciting things, so maybe you'll be excited about that...? Who doesn't love progress?**

**By the way, Central Perk _is_ the coffee house from Friends in case you were wondering. I have no originality, I guess. Shame.**

**Thanks to:**

**Expa**

**ShadowWalker207**

**AndronicaJackson**

**zerowinz**

**Mango21**

**RascalJoy**

**Guest- To be honest, I'd never really thought about Tyler and Tyson meeting, which is stupid. Obviously they should meet! I'm face palming here, seriously, if you could only see. That's a great idea, and it's going to happen! Thanks for being awesome!**

**Guest- It seems many of us hate Romeo and Juliet. I'm glad I'm not alone in that. My English teacher last year and I got into so many arguments about it, but he was bigoted and a misogynist, so he didn't care what I had to say. I'm glad you're reading this in spite of your lack of fanfic love! How pathetic would it be if I said it was basically my life now? Thanks so much for everything you said!**

**huge fan- Your review had me squealing so much my mom asked me if I needed to go to the doctor. She always thinks I'm mental. _She's_ mental. But anywho. I seriously can't thank you enough for what you said! It was the sweetest thing anyone's said to me! Best birthday gift ever!**

**You guys make me as happy as a hippo! I assume hippos are happy... They look happy. Whatever. I'M HAPPY BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS. I'm also using a lot of caps, so I should really stop that. But seriously, thank you so much!**

**I was wondering if I should post a couple one shots I wrote...? I was rereading MoA and I had a few little ideas. I don't know if it's stupid, it probably is, but if you'd like me to post them, tell me please! **

**As always, tell me what you think and what you know! It'd really help me out! Plus, I love hearing from you guys!**

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N So, I suck. I kind of skipped updating, but it was completely unintentional. While I _still_ have not returned to school, I have had to go with my mom to work so I wouldn't freeze to death. I spent all of Tuesday at the hospital, and there's not much to do there for fun, just so you know. Woe is me. **

**Anyways, here is chapter eight. It's long and weird and kind of about Jordan, but I promised you all Jordan drama when Annabeth arrived, so here you go.**

**Disclaimer: Only _this_ plot line is mine. The facts and all that nonsense is Riordan's. I take no credit.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Jordan had gotten a message from Macy, telling him that Percy's girlfriend, Annabeth, had shown up unexpectedly. And then there were a lot of smiley faces and about twenty exclamation points. He couldn't help but smile at her antics, childish as they might seem.

Macy wasn't his first girlfriend, but she _was_ the first one he genuinely cared about. His first girlfriend, the one he'd had before he'd moved to New York, wasn't bubbly and adorable the way Macy was. She couldn't make him laugh. She was as introverted as he was, and it wasn't a good combination.

He listened to the way Percy had talked about Annabeth, and he realized that he felt that way about Macy for the most part. He wasn't _in love_ with her yet, but he did love her. She was his best friend, the only person he felt he could really talk to no matter what, and he wanted her to know that. He just wasn't sure how he was supposed to _tell_ her that. Feelings didn't come easily to him.

Ms. Hammons, his math teacher, wasn't in the room yet, and so he could talk if he wanted to, but his only friend in there, who was coincidentally Percy, hadn't shown up either. At times like these, he hated that he was so shy, that he couldn't go up and talk to people the way the rest of his friends could.

Finally, about a minute before the final bell rang, Percy hurried into the classroom, his hand attached to another, much smaller hand. He had to stifle a gasp. The girl was pretty; there was no denying that, even with her hair messily pulled up on top of her head and her face void of any makeup. She was a natural, and instantly he knew what Percy liked about her: her realism. She was probably the truest girl Percy had ever met, more herself than anyone else, probably no matter what. Jordan could see that in her eyes.

But, it was her eyes that also gave her away.

Jordan had a secret, something that had haunted him his entire life, something he hadn't told anyone, not even Macy, because he knew he'd just sound crazy. He'd probably be locked away his entire life if anyone knew. No one would believe him.

He'd kept silent nearly a decade, but watching Percy holding her hand, a smile stretched across his face for the first time in a long time, he wanted to tell. He _had_ to tell, before she ruined Percy's life the way she'd ruined his.

Jordan broke out in a cold sweat, remembering what he'd seen so long ago. He should have told someone then, maybe he could've saved a life, but he hadn't. He didn't know what to do; he'd been too scared to think rationally at the time. He had to save Percy's life, had to keep him safe from the monster he thought he loved.

Percy and the girl made their way over to him. Percy pecked her on the cheek, and Jordan felt like retching all over the two of them. She made him sick to his stomach.

"Jordan," Percy grinned. "This is Annabeth, my girlfriend. Wise Girl, this is Jordan, the second best swimmer for the Goode Goldfish."

Jordan knew he was supposed to say something, to smile. It was supposed to be an involuntary reaction to Percy's attempt at a joke, but he hesitated, and when he finally spoke, it sounded forced and scared even to him. Percy made a face at him, something between curiosity and worry, but he didn't say anything, a fact which made Jordan extremely happy. He wasn't ready to confess, yet.

They sat down next to him, Percy and then Annabeth on his right. He was glad he didn't have to sit next to her; he was worried she'd recognize him, too, and try and hurt him.

Jordan tried to stay involved in their conversation, to appear normal, but when they mentioned something called a "Chiron," he lost interest, unable to follow along. Instead, he sat there wondering what he could say to Percy when he had a moment alone with him. He had to warn him about her.

Just then, the bell rang overhead, and Ms. Hammons walked in, her heels clacking against the cheap linoleum beneath them. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, so when she went to take roll, she was surprised to see an unfamiliar blonde sitting in the back by Percy.

Her eyes widened, her mouth opening, a small gasp escaping her. A few of the students turned around to see what their teacher was reacting abnormally about, and they too were shocked to see the beautiful girl sitting beside Percy.

She met Percy's gaze, and she asked him silently with her eyes whether he wanted her to move the unfamiliar student elsewhere. Percy shook his head then, reaching over to grab the girl's hand.

Jennifer cleared her throat, setting her bag down on the podium in the front of the room. "Who—who are you?"

Despite her unprofessionalism, Annabeth already liked her new teacher. She knew how poorly Percy's—and now her—English teacher treated him for things out of his control. To see that Ms. Hammons was concerned with Percy's happiness and wellbeing was a great comfort, and she smiled at the flustered woman at the front of the classroom.

"I'm Annabeth Chase," she introduced herself, tightening her grip on Percy's hand momentarily, flexing her fingers.

"Are you supposed to be in here?"

Annabeth nodded. "I just transferred here from San Francisco."

Ms. Hammons opened up her laptop and scanned her email, not noticing anything from the attendance clerk, Miss Russell, informing her of a new student.

She eyed Annabeth warily, calling up front to the office.

Miss Russell picked up, cheerful as always. "Hello, this is Sharron at the front desk. How may I help you?"

Jennifer smiled. "Hey, Sherry, this is Jenny. I have a student here who says she's a new transfer, and—"

Sharron squealed. "Is she the pretty little blonde girl with Percy Jackson?"

Ms. Hammons' eyes widened again, nodding her head though Sharron couldn't see her. "Yes, actually it is. So is she supposed to be here?"

"Oh, yes. Paul helped me with her transcripts earlier in the week."

"Mr. Blofis?"

Percy narrowed his eyes in confusion, having heard his stepdad's name.

"Mmhmm. Annabeth is Percy's girlfriend. Oh, I tell you, they're just so cute together! They're so obviously in love, your heart just melts watching the two of them interact."

"Okay. Well, I was just curious about how I didn't get an email. Thanks for clearing it up, Sherry."

"No problem, Jen. And make sure you keep the two of them together; I think they need to be with each other as often as possible. I haven't seen that boy smile in such a long time."

Jennifer grinned, glancing up at the happy couple in the back of the room. They weren't paying her any attention anymore, instead they were staring deeply into each other's eyes, and Percy was cupping her face in his hands, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She was so happy to see that boy happy for once, a part of her wanted so desperately to call up Lisa and gush with her all about it, though she knew that she couldn't.

She replied to Sharron, thanking her once more, and then she hung up the phone.

"Miss Chase," she called, and the blonde whipped her head around to look at her. "I usually assign seats in here." Annabeth and Percy's faces fell, and they looked at each other so helplessly that Jennifer's heart nearly broke in two at the sight of it. "But Percy seems to have accepted you alright. Just make sure you pay attention."

Annabeth nodded vigorously, causing Percy to snicker from beside her. She reached over and tried to smack him on the back of the head, but he caught her hand and kissed her palm, holding her hand over his heart.

"Oh my goodness," Jennifer murmured, tears pooling in her eyes. She quickly blinked them away, looking at anything but the adorable couple in the back of the room. She trained her eyes instead on her notebook filled with her lesson plans, and pulled the current assignment out, giving everyone directions and telling them they could work in groups so long as they kept it quiet.

She made her way through the throngs of students, stopping at Annabeth's desk. The two looked up at her, curiously, and she smiled self-consciously at them. "I just wanted to formally introduce myself; I'm Ms. Hammons, and I'm so very glad to have you in my class this year. Better late than never, I say."

Annabeth nodded regally up at her. "I'm glad to finally be here."

Ms. Hammons excused herself, and was about to leave when she saw Jordan, a perplexed look on his face, his eyebrows scrunched together like caterpillars, his lips pursed as if he'd just eaten a lemon whole.

"Are you okay, Jordan?"

He shook his head, waking from his stupor, and stared at her stupidly for a moment before remembering that she'd said something to him.

"Oh, yes, um…sorry, Ms. Hammons."

She didn't look totally convinced but she didn't push him. _This_ was one of the times that Jordan preferred being so shy. People left him alone.

Jordan stared down at his graph, about to offer his help to Percy just like he always did, thinking Annabeth wouldn't be very good at pre-calculus work either, but was surprised to see Annabeth helping Percy through the first problem. She had already finished two of them herself, and Jordan hadn't even started yet.

She wasn't even letting him copy like he sometimes did, instead she was making him do it all on his own.

"I don't want to do this," Percy huffed eventually, his petulance for math finally making an appearance.

"I don't care, Seaweed Brain." She grinned at him. "If you finish your work, I'll give you a treat."

"_Food_ treat or _sword_ treat?"

Jordan scrunched up his face, disgusted. He'd never heard Percy talk so crassly before. He knew from the moment he saw Annabeth that she'd be a bad influence on him, he just didn't think she'd change his whole personality for the worst.

Annabeth laughed lightly. "Well, Sally can bring cookies. I'm sure we'll work up an appetite."

Percy smirked at her, knowing he was totally going to beat her. He'd been practicing his sword fighting, both out of fun and necessity, and knew that she stood no chance. Besides, she still wasn't used to her new dagger. She'd told him as much during their IM chats recently.

Jordan, however, didn't know they were talking about fighting. He'd thought sword had been a euphemism for, well…_you know_.

He huffed under his breath.

Percy turned to him. "Seriously, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he hissed, moving away from Percy. It wasn't that he was mad at him, but he was just angry with the whole situation. He wanted Percy to be happy, but he didn't like that the only person who seemed to be able to do that was a murderer.

Macy had told him about her theory that Percy was a spy, and he'd completely disregarded that idea until he saw Annabeth. Whether or not _Percy_ was a spy, he thought that that was the only rational explanation for Annabeth. She either killed for the government, even as a child, or she just killed because she could. Either thought scared him, though.

Meanwhile, at her desk, Jennifer opened up her school email account, and composed an email addressed to her best friend and favorite coworker.

_Hey, Lisa! Guess which student of ours has a girlfriend? Percy! She just transferred here from San Francisco. You should see how happy Percy looks right now. They're so adorable, so obviously in love. How weird and creepy is it that I'm jealous that I don't have someone who treats me as sweetly as Percy treats Annabeth? Ugh. I'm pathetic. Anyways, if you have her in class, tell me! I want to know what you think! –Jen_

She pressed send and closed out of her inbox, opening up one of her word documents instead, reviewing the lesson material she was going to have to teach everyone on Wednesday.

Jordan, meanwhile, had had enough of Percy and Annabeth's flirty back-and-forth whispers and giggles, and so he stood up and marched over to his teacher's desk, asking to be excused. She said yes, still worried about him.

Percy was also concerned for his friend, but a part of him was too excited to have Annabeth back with him to really pay Jordan any attention. He knew it was rude of him, but he couldn't help it. Annabeth was always at the forefront of his mind.

Annabeth was dutifully finishing up on her graph. Percy couldn't help himself however, and instead of completing his work, he was admiring her beauty, watching the way her hand moved when she drew, the cute crinkle of her nose when she was concentrating, and the way her honey blonde princess curls fell in ringlets that perfectly framed her thin face.

"Stop staring at me," Annabeth demanded, never once taking her eyes off of the graph paper in front of her.

"But I haven't seen you in months and you're just so beautiful."

Annabeth blushed again, her line ever so off now, not quite as straight as it had been, though only the perfectionist in Annabeth would actually notice. She sighed, frustrated, and erased the error, fixing it instantly, and all without a ruler or straightedge.

"You're so perfect, Wise Girl," Percy told her, still watching her intently. "So perfect. How did I ever get someone like you?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes once more and put her pencil down. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's how you refused immortality for me. No, wait, that's not even it. Your falling with me into Hell is what probably won me over." She tucked a fallen curl behind her ear, finally meeting Percy's gaze, her voice much softer. "Stop acting like you don't deserve me, Percy." She caressed his face lightly with her fingertips, running over the slight stubble on his face. "We belong together. You deserve me no less than I deserve you. _We deserve each other_."

His eyes darkened, and he wanted nothing more than to reach out and attack her lips with his own, attaching himself to her, getting as close to her as he possibly could. "I love you, Annabeth. So much. Life would be so different if we'd never met."

"You'd still be that dorky little guy who got pushed around at camp. Maybe you'd even still be in the Hermes cabin, wondering who your dad is."

Percy made a face. "I'm so glad you set me up during Capture the Flag all those years ago."

She laughed, signing her name at the top of her paper, finished with her graph. "I'm so glad Clarisse didn't kill you. If she had, _I'd_ still be stuck at camp."

"I'm glad things worked out the way they did in the end."

"Me too, Seaweed Brain."

Annabeth got up to turn in her paper. Percy turned back to his own graph, staring blankly at the numbers in front of him. He thought back to all the things that had happened to him, and Annabeth in turn, and wondered what life would be like if things _hadn't_ gone the way they had, if Luke had won, if Gaea had won. He thought about where Annabeth would be if the world had been destroyed during the wars.

He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He thought about where he'd be if not for Annabeth, and he knew he'd probably be dead. Every quest he'd ever gone on, the only reason he'd survived even a day was because of her. He'd be dead without her, and if he hadn't been there for her, if he had not been there to fall with her into Tartarus, she probably would be, too. He couldn't handle that thought. He couldn't stand seeing her dead, even if it was only his imagination running rampant. He clamped a hand over his mouth and wrapped an arm around his stomach to keep from vomiting the bites of muffin from that morning all over the desk.

Annabeth, who'd only just then returned to her seat, noticed the pale, green tint of Percy's face, and her heart skipped a beat with her growing trepidation. She grabbed his arm with her right hand and began rubbing his back with her other in an attempt to calm him down.

"What's wrong?"

He took a moment to respond to her, and when he did his eyes were glazed over, as if he wasn't actually there, but somewhere else, somewhere so much worse.

"Don't touch her," he moaned under his breath, clawing at his arms. Annabeth released him and flinched back, not having witnessed one of his attacks before, only having heard about them.

Percy was growing louder and louder by the second, still lost in his torturous daydreaming. Students stopped what they were doing to turn around and look at him, and Annabeth had to keep herself restrained so as to avoid punching them all in the face.

"Jackson's already scared the new girl away," someone muttered, causing others to laugh and make equally as horrible comments.

Annabeth ignored them with all her might, and stroked Percy's cheek, whispering in his ear, repeating the same mantra over and over again: "I'm fine, it's okay, I'm right here with you. I'm fine, it's okay, I'm right here with you. I'm fine, it's okay, I'm right here with you."

Eventually Percy calmed down, and the glassy look in his eyes disappeared. He saw Annabeth there, unharmed, and nearly broke down in tears. He pulled her to him, folding his arms around her, and said nonsensical things no one but Annabeth could ever hope to understand.

Jennifer, who had never seen Percy awake from one of his fits before, suddenly understood the severity of the situation. Annabeth seemed to be Percy's lifeline, and she now knew why Sherry had told her to keep them together, though she'd never actually entertained the idea of separating them. He needed her desperately, and she wondered if Annabeth had the same basic need.

She put the phone down, not needing to call Paul. She stood up and walked back over to the couple, squatting down so that she was on their level. "Do you two need to go somewhere private for a while?"

Annabeth nodded her head, standing up and pulling Percy with her. They walked out of the room, hand-in-hand.

The other students were gossiping about the couple. All the girls seemed somewhat upset to find out Percy had a girlfriend. Though no one could deny how odd he was, none of them understanding his condition, he was that one guy, the mysterious dark one with an unknown history that every girl wanted to know. He was attractive and quiet, known for his mile long record. Now here he was, smiling and holding hands with the new girl.

The strange boy had only gotten stranger.

"What just happened?" Lewis, a boy in the front row, asked.

"You just witnessed the wondrous magic called love, live and in action."

Someone snickered. "Who would love that loser?"

Ms. Hammons narrowed her eyes. "Hey, Mike, you realize that while you're making fun of Percy, you're sitting in the middle of your math class being fussed at by your teacher. Percy's probably making out with his girlfriend right now. Who's _really_ the loser?"

It wasn't exactly appropriate conduct for a teacher, but it was very satisfying. There was just something about Percy that made her defensive; hardly anyone thought anything of him though she could see his potential in everything he ever did. And now that he finally had someone who so obviously loved him, he was getting even more hate. Jennifer wasn't about to let that happen.

The ends justified the means.

Jordan walked back into the classroom then, and saw that everyone was riled up, while Percy and Annabeth were both gone. He grumbled under his breath, speculating about their whereabouts, assuming the worst of them once again. Either they were doing the nasty in the janitor's closet, or she was butchering him into little tiny pieces.

Jordan was a little off, however, with his suppositions, though, because as soon as the door had closed behind them, Percy pulled Annabeth to the empty stairwell around the corner and gently pushed her up against the wall, kissing her hard, getting all of his emotions out in that one brush of their lips.

"What did you see?" Annabeth panted out as Percy broke away from her, his hands sliding up and down her arms, checking for scars that weren't there, the ones that had faded from his own skin.

He sucked in a breath, the images of Annabeth being tortured to death flashing through his mind once more. He stared at her, his chest heaving, trying to clear his mind.

"Percy?"

Percy stroked her cheek softly, loving the feel of her skin. No matter how much blood or dirt or grime she found herself covered in, her skin was always as smooth as silk. He always loved to feel her skin.

"Percy?" Annabeth repeated. She pushed his hair back from his forehead, noticing his high fever, how clammy he was. "Tell me what you saw."

He made a sort of choking noise, as if the act of swallowing, of breathing, was difficult for him. "Please," he begged her, "don't make me talk about it. I don't want to think about it anymore."

Annabeth blinked back the tears in her eyes, nodding her head. "Okay, Percy, whatever you want." She saw the fear in his eyes, leftover from his panic attack, and she stretched up on her toes and kissed away a tear that had slid down his cheek. "I love you so much," she whispered.

Nothing in his life, not the gods or the Titans or anything, had ever been as powerful as the love he and Annabeth shared, and he'd never felt closer to her in his life than he did in that moment, though he suspected that every moment they shared was more, just _more_, than the last.

"Marry me."

Annabeth's eyes bugged out, having not expected that.

"Percy," she breathed, covering her mouth with her hand. "What—?"

"Marry me, Annabeth. Let's just do it, let's get married."

Annabeth's lip quivered. "Percy—"

Percy felt his heart shatter inside his chest, and his words came out nearly hysterical. "You told me, you promised, that when I asked you, you would say yes, no matter what, no matter how unromantic it was. You're not—you're not saying no, are you? You're not saying that you don't want to marry me, are you?"

A tear slipped out of Annabeth's eye, and she grabbed the front of his shirt just as he made a move to step back, to step away from her. "Percy, no, that's not…. I _will_ marry you. I want to marry you, more than anything, but you're just asking me now because of how emotional everything just became."

Percy shook his head forcefully, his eyes hurt and angry. "No, that's not it. I'm asking you now because I love you more in this moment than I did when I told you I wanted to ask you. Every second that goes on, I just love you more and more. That'll never change."

"Ask me again when neither of us feel this broken inside. Ask me when neither of us are haunted by the past. Ask me when you know that it has nothing to do with worrying about me being hurt. Ask me when all you feel is love, and none of that resentment or pain or worry. Ask me then, Percy, and I'll say yes."

"Will you help me _not_ feel all of it, then?"

"I'll do anything for you." She smiled then, teary as it was, and said, "I'm sorry, Percy. I just want our marriage to start off with only love, and none of the heartbreak you and I have both been feeling since we found out we were demigods. I know it won't be perfect, but I want us to have it as close to perfect as possible."

"I'll do whatever I can to make that happen," Percy promised, his forehead against hers, looking deeply into the grey eyes he dreamed about at night.

Annabeth kissed his jaw. "I know, and I love you so much for that. I love you for so many things."

"It's how awesome I look in a toga, isn't it?"

She laughed, tugging him away from the stairwell. "C'mon, Seaweed Brain. Let's get back to class."

* * *

**A/N (part two) So, what did you all think? It feels really fluffy to me. I hope you all don't totally hate fluff. I hope the fluffy overload doesn't kill you, if you do. **

**So, my mom's been pimping my story out on Facebook, which is weird and uncomfortable for me, but to any of my family members reading this: Hi! See you on Saturday! We dine at seven!**

**Also, if you recall, I said that I was as happy as hippo in the last chapter's A/N, but I've recently learned that hippos are the cause of most deaths-by-animal in Africa, so I take that comment back. Hippos are not happy. They're freaking bloodthirsty, and I don't want to be like one. I also don't think I can ever say hungry as a hippo, either. Unless I become a cannibal. But that's neither here nor there. **

**Thanks to:**

**marshaz333**

**expa**

**ShadowWalker207**

**zerowinz**

**LovePercyJackson**

**Owl-of-the-Void**

**RascalJoy**

**nabears101**

**MahnoorAppleAnsari **

**AndronicaJackson11398**

**shadowhunterDemigod1**

**Mango21**

**llamaprincess13**

**Guest- You're so sweet! I hope you learned more with this update! I definitely did!**

**huge fan- I swooned and had to be revived with smelling salts when I read your review! You're too good to me!**

**hellofancyworld- I really have no idea how to tell you how much your review meant to me! That was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about my writing. You seriously killed me. I'm in Elysium right now. Yup. :)**

**Oh, and hello new best friend pipermclean! Comment allez-vous?**

**I posted a one shot, so please read that. It's a reunion one, and I know what you're all thinking - _shoot me now_ - but if you're bored and lonely and want even _more_ fluff, read it. I'd appreciate it. It would make me happy as a clam! **

**IF CLAMS AREN'T HAPPY, PLEASE TELL ME. AND THEN TELL ME WHAT ANIMAL IS! I DON'T WANT TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE TWICE!**

**Tell me what you thought or what you're now thinking or just a colon and a parenthesis. **

**If there are any dudes reading this, can you make yourselves known, please? I'm curious to see if guys like some fluffy Percabeth as much as I do.**

**Okay. I promise I'm finished with my GARGANTUAN A/N. I really need to stop talking so much. **

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N How much do you guys hate me? I hope not enough to completely give up on me! If it means anything, life's been pretty crazy for me the past few days. Like, seriously crazy. Please forgive me!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan. Gladly, because can you imagine the amount of fan girls that will threaten him when he kills off one of the seven? *shivers***

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Percy had never felt as ashamed of himself as he did right then, sitting in English class, not even pretending to pay attention. He'd never been so codependent before, and now, after he'd basically cried his eyes out in front of Annabeth, he wanted nothing more than to bury his head in the sand and never come up.

She didn't seem to judge him; she'd seemed more emotionally complacent while she was consoling him than at any other point in their relationship. He was glad she was so comfortable around him, but a part of him wished he wasn't so comfortable around her. If he wasn't so sure of her feelings for him, he'd be worrying about her leaving him for someone not as needy as he.

Thankfully, Dr. Boring wasn't at school that day, and so they had a substitute that was perky and friendly, and was mostly spending her time popping her gum and idly twirling her hair as she chatted with other students. Percy hadn't bothered to learn her name; there was no need. She hadn't cared to learn his either, which he knew was probably a good thing. If she had, he'd undoubtedly be in detention.

He turned in his seat to look at Annabeth, who was sitting beside him for the day. When Dr. Boring returned tomorrow, everyone would have to go to their assigned seats and Annabeth would be moved—probably somewhere intended to infuriate Percy, no doubt—so he was going to enjoy their momentary closeness while he could.

"Um, I have detention after school today."

Annabeth didn't look surprised, which Percy decided not to be offended about. She knew better than just about anyone that he found trouble no matter what, even if it wasn't his fault. She wouldn't be _too_ mad at him.

"Of course you do. What for?"

"I broke Vick's fingers."

Annabeth remembered Vick's name being called when Ms. Hanes went over the roster earlier. She swiveled in her seat and looked at the hulking figure—only to see him looking back.

"Good," she decided, seeing the menacing look in his eyes. She knew he was the kid that always heckled Percy, so she wouldn't fault him. Plus, Macy had already told her all about the situation from last week in full detail. Percy hadn't done anything wrong, not really.

Tyler, who had been talking to an acquaintance of his, came over and plopped down in the seat in front of Annabeth, a small grin playing at his lips.

"So," he said, his eyes twinkling, "you're the infamous Annabeth."

"Infamous? I'd prefer _famous_, thank you very much."

Tyler shrugged. "We didn't even know you existed until last week. Percy tried to keep you a secret."

Percy worried she'd be angry, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed relieved, which surprised him.

"I'm glad. I don't want you knowing anything about me that I didn't tell you myself."

"If it means anything, he only talked about how you two were like a conjoined twin, or something."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows in alarm and looked at her boyfriend questioningly.

Percy held up his hands and shook his head, a laugh escaping him. "I told him about that _myth_ where Zeus split the people in half so they spend their lives searching for their missing part. I never once said we were conjoined. That would just be weird."

"Same difference," Tyler argued.

Annabeth ignored him, picking up her ink pen and doodling in the corner of her notebook paper. Before long, she'd drawn most of camp across the top, including all of the cabins, the big house, the arena, the lava pit, and Zeus' fist.

She sighed, looking at her home, and blew her bangs out of her face.

"We should go back soon."

Percy looked at what she'd drawn, and nodded his head though she wasn't looking at him. He missed Camp Half-Blood more and more every day. He especially missed Grover, his best friend. He hadn't seen him in so long, and he wondered what he was up to, how he and Juniper were. He'd known Grover longer than just about anybody, even Annabeth, and it was strange not spending any time with him anymore when he wasn't that far away.

"How has Grover been?"

Annabeth ran a finger over the ink, wishing she was actually staring at Thalia's Tree right then. "I'm not sure. Last I checked, Grover was visiting Hedge and Millie in California. He was going there to babysit for them so they could go out."

"Why can't Tristan McLean?"

Tyler's eyes widened. "Are you guys talking about _the_ Tristan McLean? The star of _King of Sparta_? Man, I loved that movie!"

Percy and Annabeth locked eyes briefly before looking back at Tyler.

"We've never met him," Percy finally said, "but one of our friends is his daughter."

"He has a daughter?"

Percy closed his eyes momentarily, sighing, a part of him wishing that he could actually tell his mortal friends about his life without there being any repercussions from the gods, but a larger part knowing they'd all be in danger if they knew. Still, it would be so much easier if they could talk about things without monitoring how much they gave away.

"Look, dude, can we not talk about it?"

Tyler bit his tongue. There was so much that he wanted to say to Percy, including how upset he was that he was in the dark about so much of his life. He'd always known Percy kept secrets from him, but he'd assumed no one else knew about them either, so it was easier to accept. Now that Annabeth was here, obviously in on everything, he wanted to know so badly. If he didn't trust Percy as much as he did, he would have confronted him long ago.

"Sure, whatever." He turned to Annabeth, attempting to hide his fear of her. She was scary, with her height and her eyes and her infinite knowledge. If Tyler didn't know that Percy was more than capable of standing up for himself, he would have assumed Annabeth was his bodyguard, or something, like a Rent-a-Cop.

"What do you want?" Annabeth asked, watching Tyler wearily. She knew he was Percy's best mortal friend, but he bothered her. He seemed too curious, and it worried her how much he might know. Percy had a tendency to trust far too easily, and only Zeus knew how much Percy had indirectly given away.

"Can you tell me something about yourself?"

"What do you want to know?"

Tyler thought for a moment. "Do you speak another language?"

Annabeth debated telling him the truth. On the one hand, she herself could give something away by telling him the truth, but on the other, she was naturally and overtly intelligent. Her being bilingual shouldn't be able to reveal anything about her. At least, she hoped not.

"I speak Greek fluently," she told him, only a slight inflection of haughtiness in her tone. Hubris was her flaw, after all.

Tyler's eyes narrowed and he seemed to come to some conclusion, which only added to Annabeth's worries. Had she made a fatal error in telling him? What could he have possibly gotten from that, other than that she was well educated?

Tyler, meanwhile, remembered something he hadn't written on his list, something that should have bothered him more than anything else. During Percy's panic attack, when he'd helped Paul take him to the office, Percy had been muttering under his breath. Tyler hadn't been able to understand him, but not because he couldn't hear him. He'd been speaking another language, one Tyler didn't recognize.

He remembered what Percy had said, though.

_Ανάθεμά σε, Γαία! Αφήστε μας ήσυχους!_

Tyler still didn't know what it meant, but he knew it was Greek, whatever it was. That and it had something to do with Gaea, which definitely didn't help him figure anything out.

Percy could feel the discomfort radiating from Annabeth, so he reached out a hand and tried to soothe her the best that he could, but to no avail. She seemed to have zoned out on him, and was currently worrying her lip with her teeth, her mind elsewhere. He was used to that look, the one that seemed to be thinking a million things at once, never living in the moment, and while it usually brought him a sense of peace, it didn't then. It worried him.

"Annabeth?" he murmured.

She didn't respond, so he gently shook her shoulder, hoping to get her attention. She turned and looked at him, still dazed, but she was paying attentive.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Percy, we need to be cautious," she whispered under her breath, careful to make sure that Tyler couldn't overhear her. "We can't let _anyone_ know about us."

Percy's breath hitched, and he swore for a moment that Annabeth had been reading his earlier thoughts. He knew he couldn't tell, _knew_ that it would only lead to their death, but it would be so much easier on him if he could come clean. It had all worked out with Rachel, hadn't it? Who was to say Tyler wouldn't be fine, too?

Tyler had been watching the two of them closely. They were obviously very comfortable with the other, to the point that he wondered if maybe he'd been wrong about them. Maybe Percy _did_ belong with her forever. Maybe they _were_ soul mates. It seemed weird, but how else could he explain them? He'd thought maybe they were just infatuated with one another, but upon seeing them together, he knew it ran so much deeper than that. Annabeth didn't seem like the type of person who would easily submit to another, but she did with Percy, the same way Percy relied on her. It was scary and strange, and kind of adorable, too.

Not that he'd ever admit to that out loud.

Finally, Tyler interrupted Percy and Annabeth's eye conversation with a cough. They met his gaze, and he grinned at them. "You two," he said, "are very weird."

o.O.o

It was once again lunch time, Macy's favorite part of the day, and she couldn't help but grin as she made her way through the crowded hallways. She quickly stopped at her locker to put her stuff away, and made her way to Jordan's locker, which was closer to the cafeteria.

He was there, a nervous look on his face, his hands trembling at his sides. She hurried over to him, panic building up in her stomach. She'd never seen him so upset before, and she didn't like seeing it now. He was usually so calm and controlled, almost to the point of regality. He balanced her well. She'd have to do a 180 herself and stay sensible, whatever his problem may be.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, barely touching his arm.

He shook his head. "I don't like Annabeth."

Macy barely managed to keep from jumping back, but she did gasp. Annabeth was her new friend, and she loved her simply because Percy did. She was nice and smart, and although she could be terrifying, it was obviously just her self-preservation.

"What do you mean?"

Jordan shoved his hands in his pockets, not meeting her gaze. He knew how excited she'd been about Annabeth, but he had to tell her, had to warn her about Annabeth's past.

"She's a killer, Macy. I saw her kill when I was younger."

Macy laughed then, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, her stomach cramping. People stopped briefly to stare at her, but they otherwise ignored her, not that she noticed.

Jordan tried not to get irritated, but it was proving difficult. His own girlfriend was laughing at him when he told her something he'd been afraid to tell people for so long. She reacted just like he'd expected everyone else to, but he'd always assumed that she'd believe him were he ever to tell her. It was disappointing, and it only made him angrier.

"I'm not kidding!" he yelled, smacking his hand against the locker. "She killed someone, Macy!"

Macy stopped giggling. She was suddenly scared of _Jordan_, the last person she'd ever anticipated fearing. He'd never yelled at her, at _anyone_ before. It was obvious he was very serious, but she knew he had to be mistaken. Annabeth wasn't a _murderer_, she was a _spy_. If she had killed anyone, no one would have ever seen it. Obviously.

"Okay," she said. "Calm down."

"I'm calm."

She rolled her eyes at his clipped tone. He was anything but _calm_. His chest was still heaving, his nostrils flared, but his eyes looked normal again, the same blue she always saw when she looked at him, not the nearly black color that had taken over when he'd yelled at her. He was calming _down_, at least.

"Now, what are you talking about?"

"Annabeth stabbed someone. I saw her."

"When?"

"Years ago, when I still lived Pennsylvania."

"Did you report her?"

He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Macy closed her eyes and tried to breathe like a normal person, but she was still having trouble. Her boyfriend was accusing her new best friend of a horrible crime about ten years too late, something he'd apparently never bothered to tell the authorities. She wanted to laugh and smack him and go eat her lunch. She wanted to talk to Annabeth and learn more about her. She didn't want to be standing in the hallway talking about Annabeth murdering someone. She didn't want that at all.

"How am I supposed to believe that?"

"You're supposed to believe _me_."

Macy just stared at him, studying his face. He seemed sincerely upset, completely convinced, but Macy _couldn't_ believe him. She just couldn't. She sighed, latching onto his arm, and pulled him in the direction of the cafeteria.

"You're being silly, Jordan. I'm sure you've just mixed things up. You were only seven or so when you saw that. Who knows what you actually saw?"

Jordan stopped, removing her hand from his arm. "_I _do. _I_ know what I saw."

Macy pursed her lips, her eyes flickering between his face and their table that was already full of their friends. Annabeth and Percy were smiling at Sarah and Tyler. Macy could imagine all of their laughter intermingling with hers, the stories they were telling. She wanted to be a part of that.

"C'mon, let's go eat, and we can talk about this later."

Jordan shook his head again, for the third time. "I think I'm going to go sit with the rest of the swim team." He debated for a moment about inviting her with him, but thought better of it at the last minute. If she didn't believe him, he didn't want to be around her. Not for a while, anyways. "Have fun with Annabeth."

Macy stared after him, shocked, her mouth gaped open. She wanted him to turn around and grin at her. She wanted him to go eat with their friends. She wanted them both to just forget about their fight and have everything go on as it normally did. She didn't want _this_.

"Jordan," she called.

He kept walking, and it was clear he had no intention of looking back at her. Her heart clenched, but she fisted her palms and turned on her heel, hurrying to her table, not in the mood to eat anymore. She no longer had an appetite.

o.O.o

Sarah had sat down at their table first, which was unusual. Usually she was after Macy and Jordan, but they were nowhere to be seen. She searched the room for them, but to no avail. She shrugged her shoulders, unpacking her lunch in front of her.

Tyler had joined her soon after, clearly lost in thought. She'd waved her hand in front of his face, but he hadn't even blinked. She didn't know what was up with him, but she decided to leave it alone. She was actually kind of glad Tyler wasn't blabbering for once.

When Percy showed up, a blonde in tow, she'd nearly spit up her apple juice. It was Annabeth, the girl from the picture Percy had showed her and Macy the other day. She remembered Percy saying that Annabeth wasn't coming anytime soon, so it must have been a surprise. She couldn't wait for Macy to get there and see her for herself. She'd be so excited!

It was clear that Macy was late when Sarah eaten all of her sandwich and half of her chips and she still hadn't showed up. Annabeth and Percy were telling them an obviously clipped version of when they'd met, and Sarah couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Percy drooling all over himself at the sight of Annabeth, but on the inside she was worried for Macy.

Tyler eventually pointed behind them, saying, "What's going on with them?"

Sarah looked over her shoulder and saw her best friend fighting with Jordan. She wanted to go over there and intervene, to punch him in the face, especially when she saw him walk away from Macy who looked to be on the brink of tears. She heard her call out to him, eliciting no response, and had it not been for Macy making her way over to them already, she would have jumped up and helped her over to the table.

Macy plopped down beside her, her eyes narrowed into slits. Sarah could hear her muttering under her breath, but she couldn't make out her unintelligible words. She didn't know what to do in that situation, not only because she herself had never had a fight with a boyfriend, but because Macy and Jordan were always happy. They'd never fought before. She didn't know how to react.

"What did he do?" Percy asked, a hard edge to his voice.

Sarah thought it was sweet that he was playing big brother, but she could tell Macy didn't want to talk about it by the way she held herself, tense and unmoving.

"He's being a jerk," Macy said.

Annabeth looked at Macy in concern. "What happened?"

Sarah looked at the new member of their group with a sliver of hostility. Macy was _her_ best friend, not Annabeth's, a girl who didn't even know her. She had no business butting into things that didn't concern her.

Macy looked up and grinned, and Sarah was shocked that there was absolutely no reaction on Macy's face, no excitement or joy or even confusion. It was almost as if Macy had already known that Annabeth was there, but that couldn't be it. Macy would have told her.

"He thinks he knows you from somewhere."

Annabeth's brows furrowed. "What? Where does he know me from?"

Macy let out a little giggle, though it didn't sound natural. Sarah could hear the hurt in her voice as she forced it out. "He thinks he saw you kill someone."

Sarah watched as Percy and Annabeth went ramrod straight. Annabeth's knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of the table tightly.

"What?"

Macy looked at them curiously now. "He's wrong, isn't he? You didn't actually kill anyone, right? At least, not a civilian."

Sarah snorted, remembering Macy's theory that Annabeth and Percy were spies. It was preposterous, but hilarious all the same. It was the funniest thing that had been said, at least, since Macy had shown up, and she wanted to diffuse the tension in any way possible.

Annabeth shook her head no. "Of course I never killed anyone, Mace."

Macy nodded. "That's what I told him, but he didn't believe me. He said he saw you long ago, when he still lived in Pennsylvania. But that's crazy, because you've never lived in Pennsylvania. You told me you've only ever lived in San Francisco and New York."

Percy gripped Annabeth's hand, and she looked at him. They said something under their breath, something that seemed to interest Tyler, but she couldn't hear it. Percy pecked her on the cheek when they were finished talking, and stood up, marching away from his seat and towards the rest of the swim team.

Macy watched him go.

"What's he going to do?"

"He's probably going to try and talk Jordan out of whatever he's thinking," Annabeth told them, also looking after him. "I don't know why he would think I killed anyone, though."

Sarah looked at Annabeth, hearing the hard edge to her tone. She looked like she was telling the truth. Her face was sympathetic, neither guilty nor apathetic, and there was no waver as she spoke. However, Sarah could sense that something was _off_ about her. She sounded almost too defensive, but then again, how _else_ were you supposed to react when you were accused of murdering someone?

They all watched as Percy motioned for Jordan to follow him out of the cafeteria, his shoulders set, his face devoid of any emotion whatsoever. Percy was all business, while Jordan looked as if he were about to barf.

"Oh my gosh, is Percy going to _kill_ him?" Macy asked, thinking back to his altercation with Vick.

Annabeth didn't dispute that. Instead, she shrugged.

"I _think_ he's just talking to him. I think."

Tyler drummed his fingers against the tabletop. He looked at the three girls sitting with him, each so completely different from the others. Macy was generally bubbly and extroverted, always the center of the room. There was shy Sarah, who hid behind Macy, and used her as her own social shield, only swimming because a couple of her friends did. And when he looked at Annabeth, he didn't even know where to begin. She was an anomaly, able to speak Greek and draw perfect temples in the corner of her paper.

It was strange to watch them all converged there, all so different, but all exactly the same in that moment. It was nice to see friendship in its physical manifestation, especially when he could feel it slipping through his fingers, splitting at the seams, about to disappear completely.

Annabeth glanced at him quickly out of the corner of her eye, and he knew she felt it, too. Life as they all knew it was about to come to a roaring halt, and nothing would ever be the same again.

* * *

**A/N What did you think? It's supposed to set the scene for all the stuff that's on it's way. There was obviously some foreshadowing at the end of the chapter. It was blatant. Eck.**

**Anyways, want to hear all about my week? So, Sunday was my sixteenth birthday, but I celebrated with my family on Saturday. And you know how my mom tried to humiliate me by pimping me out on Facebook to my family? Yeah, they're all reading this. All of them. They've even reviewed. They're probably reading this right now. But, anyways, my mom opened her mouth AGAIN and told my very nosy aunt (I love you!) that my white coat ceremony was Monday. On Sunday, my aunt apparently told my math teacher, who is a part of my medical program and also a member of her church, that she wanted pictures. So, on Monday, I had to stay at school until seven thirty at night, where I made a fool of myself when I had to stand up and get my coat - I pushed everyone down and sneezed all over the stage - and fell asleep the second I got home. So, today in math, when I'm supposed to be learning about polynomials and whatnot, my math teacher just stops what she's doing to tell me that I have to dress up tomorrow so she can take pictures of me in my white coat and send them to my aunt. Also, sidebar, one of my cousins said that Ms. Hammons reminded her of said math teacher. That wasn't on purpose, but lo and behold, it's very true. So, I came home to my mom and tried to complain to her about the ridiculousness of the whole situation, and she got angry that she didn't have pictures of me in my coat. My life has been crazy. **

**Also, to my family: I'm very gracious that you're all reading this, and that you've honestly been telling me how you felt about it, and I don't want to come across as rude here, especially since I'll probably have to stay with one of you this Friday night while my mom's out of town, but you need to understand that this story is my way of expressing myself and doing what I love. I'm sorry if the minor cussing in earlier chapters offended you, I honestly am, but I'm trying to make this as realistic as possible. I did this thinking it would be completely anonymous, and now I feel very exposed. I love you all, but I didn't write this for you. I wrote it for me. I was never going to write anything inappropriate on here, so if that's why you're reading, don't worry. You've all raised me right. I couldn't tell you this when we were all together, mostly because I didn't want Aunt Grace to know about any of it, and because I'm a gigantic coward, but I thought it needed to be said. **

**Sorry if things took a dramatic turn in the A/N. I just had to get that off my chest.**

**FOR NORMAL STRANGERS WHO DON'T KNOW ME: I'm sorry if Percy's interdependence thing bothered you. I think it's pretty realistic though, all things considered. I mean, Percy's cared about Annabeth since they were twelve, and his feelings have only grown stronger as they aged. They're in love; Riordan's even said so. So, I personally think that if Percy imagined Annabeth being brutally murdered in his mind he'd go a little crazy and hold her hand and kiss her and cry and do all the couple-y things they did. That's just me, though. I'm pushing it for a reason. Just trust me. I actually have a plan.**

**Thanks to:**

**llamaprinces13**

**Cynder2013**

**zerowinz**

**Mango21**

**RascalJoy**

**ShadowWalker207**

**thein273**

**Isabella Frida-Marie Cullen**

**AndronicaJackson11398**

**expa**

**pipermclean**

**haajoo master**

**Owl-of-the-Void**

**hellofancyworld- I hope I explained the whole codependency thing! Sorry if it turned you off from the story :( **

**Screams- Thanks so much!**

**Guest- I believe it's pronounced like "Good," but don't quote me on that. **

**huge fan- Please don't die! I'll miss you!**

**Unanimous- Well, garble down chapter nine! I don't want you to starve on my account! (OMG that was a pun!)**

**Johnnyz- Thanks "johnnyz!" It makes me laugh that you reviewed under that name. It's totes jelly! Just curious, but do you think it would be alright with marshaz333 if I came and stayed with you Friday? Love you!**

**littlemae4- I don't think I could write your Barbie in here and still have anyone want to read this! She was kind of scary! I love you!**

**You guys all make me happy as turtles! That was what the majority suggested. I've seen lots of happy looking turtles, so I think this is a safe bet for once. At least I hope so. **

**Tell me what you all thought about chapter nine. A colon and a parenthesis works too, or you can even get a little crazy with a semi colon! **

**Any suggestions on books I should read? **

**Sorry that my A/N seem to always grow in size. You can just skip over it if you like, but I say all these things for a reason. It's for you all. And a little for me. **

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N So, what's up guys? It's Sunday, but if you're in America, tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so there's still no school! Who loves long weekends? I do! **

**Disclaimer: I'm really getting tired of telling you all this, but I don't want to go to prison or anything. I DON'T OWN PJO OR HOO. Tis all.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Percy steeled himself as he pushed through the cafeteria doors, not even bothering to see if Jordan had followed behind him. If he hadn't, it just gave Percy time to cool off and come up with a game plan. If he did, it allowed Percy to take his anxiety out on someone—even if that someone was a friend.

He heard the telltale signs of Jordan's sneakers squeaking against the linoleum, the only sound in the hallway besides his own ragged breathing. It wasn't so much that he was angry at Jordan; instead, he was angry that Jordan had upset Macy and potentially exposed Annabeth.

He didn't stop until he had made it to Paul's classroom, the only place in the entire building where he never worried about being exposed to the mortals. In case it were to come to it, he'd rather tell Jordan the truth there than anywhere else.

"Percy," Jordan murmured behind him. "What are you—"

Percy shut his eyes tightly and shook his head. He didn't want to hear Jordan talk, not until he had gotten the chance to himself.

"Don't," he warned his friend, turning the knob on Paul's door and pushing it open. It slammed against the wall, causing Jordan to flinch. Percy didn't see it, but he heard it, and he sadistically took pleasure in Jordan's fear of him.

Paul looked up from his desk, shock on his face until he saw who it was. His countenance morphed into resignation, quite used to Percy disrupting the peace and quiet he sought in his own classroom. He couldn't help the small smile that played at his lips.

"Can I help you, Percy?"

Percy grinned ruefully at his stepfather, brushing his hair back off his forehead.

"Can you give me and Jordan a moment?"

Paul hesitated only for a second, pushing back from his chair and heading towards the door. He looked at Jordan, and wondered what was about to conspire in his room. Jordan looked to be on the verge of tears.

"I'll leave you to it, then." He shot Percy a warning look. "Don't do anything stupid," he told him under his breath.

"Trust me," Percy replied, "what I'm doing is completely necessary."

Paul walked past them, and hurried away. He was no longer curious.

Inside the confines of room _317_, Jordan hugged the wall as Percy stared at him unflinchingly from the other side of the room. Jordan didn't want to say it, but he finally understood why Macy seemed to believe he was a spy. Percy exuded a silent confidence that left him completely unnerved.

Finally, he said, "What do you want?"

Percy's eyes flashed. "Tell me what you _think_ you saw Annabeth do."

Jordan narrowed his eyes. He was reminded of Macy's doubt in him, which only added to his anger. He wasn't in the mood to hear Percy talk down to him, too.

"She killed a man. I saw her. I _know_ she did it."

"And there's no way of changing your mind?"

Jordan shook his head sternly, trusting in what he saw all those years ago.

Percy sighed. "I really wish you hadn't said that."

Fear pricked at Jordan, his hair standing on end. It was completely irrational, he told himself. _Percy's my friend_. But it didn't change the goose bumps rising along his arms. He was scared of Percy, not only because of his menacing tone, but because of his words. Villains in movies always said that to the heroes before they knocked them out.

"What—what do you mean?"

Percy stepped closer to him, and looked right into his eyes. A deep look of concentration was on his face, a far more serious look than Jordan had ever seen on his friend. Percy snapped his fingers, and a fog settled over his brain, a haze that made him sleepy and forgetful.

"_Annabeth was helping an elderly man across the road. You saw her showing him directions to the park. She didn't kill him. You thought it would be funny to tell Macy that, but now you're sorry and you want to apologize to her."_

Jordan could see it in his mind: Annabeth was young, and was with two friends. She didn't have a knife in her hand, she had a map, one he'd handed to her, and she didn't stab him, she pointed in the opposite direction. He could see it. He had been wrong, and now, because he'd tried to be funny and cause trouble, Macy was angry at him. Why was he so stupid?

"I have to apologize to Macy."

Percy stepped away, smirking to himself. He'd never been the greatest at using the Mist, and he hadn't been sure if it would work in his favor or not. For all he knew, Jordan was clear sighted, and had seen Annabeth kill a monster. The Mist might not have worked on him, and it could have only impeded everything further.

Percy glanced up at the clock that hung on the wall over the door.

_11:57_

"Yeah, you should do that. But we have to hurry. Lunch is almost over."

Jordan blinked his eyes a few times, still drowsy. Percy pushed him gently out the door and made his way down the stairs and towards the lunch room. Jordan followed behind him, still lost in thought.

What had made him think it would be funny to tell a horrible lie like that in the first place? It wasn't funny at all, and it only seemed to hurt Macy and Annabeth, thusly hurting himself and Percy. His joke had only upset people. Of course Annabeth wasn't a murderer. She was too nice for that. And those other people in his memory, the dark haired girl in the black clothing and the blond boy, they were obviously too nice, as well. Obviously. They were all kids. They wouldn't _kill_ someone.

"They wouldn't kill someone," he muttered.

Percy glanced back at him curiously. "What did you say?"

"They wouldn't kill someone."

"_They?"_

"The other two…the girl and the boy. They wouldn't kill someone."

Percy sighed, realizing Luke and Thalia had been there too, and Grover had probably been hiding somewhere not too far away. "Look, Jordan, sometimes people do bad things, but that doesn't mean they're a bad person. And it doesn't mean that they won't do the right thing in the end."

Jordan pursed his lips. "I know, Percy. And thanks. I shouldn't have said what I did to Macy. It was a bad thing. I'm going to go and do the right thing now. Thanks for helping me pull my head out of my butt. I'm glad I have a friend like you."

Percy only then remembered that Jordan didn't _know_ Luke, and so his little speech meant nothing to him in that way. At least he could take it and apply it to his own life. What had he been thinking, anyways, bringing Luke up? He hadn't been, obviously.

"Of course, Man."

Jordan hurried off then, and made his way to the cafeteria, eager to find Macy and apologize for his idiocy, his memory long forgotten.

o.O.o

It was dark, but then again, it was always dark. He saw nothing but darkness anymore, and he saw no reason to go out and find light. He was better off where he was, alone, in the obscurity of the Underworld, where no one cared and no one bothered him. He often found solace with the ghosts, and on very rare occasions, his sister would even make an appearance.

Nico hated himself sometimes, for many reasons, but mostly because he was too scared to even confront himself. If he couldn't talk about it with himself, how was he supposed to talk about it with anyone else?

If he were honest, he knew that Hazel, at least, would accept him, should he ever tell her the truth. Jason had even offered to talk. The one person he really wanted to talk to, however, probably never wanted to see him again, though Nico doubted that they'd ever wanted to see him in the first place.

He'd been hiding in his room in his father's palace since the war had ended, and he had no plans of ever leaving the Underworld again, not for some time, at least.

Persephone was leaving soon, which meant he'd be free of her for another six months. Hades might be a little crueler to others when she was gone, but he was always at his best around Nico when she was topside.

Nico looked at the clock on his nightstand.

_8:57_

If he'd bothered going to sleep last night, he would be waking up right about now. But he hadn't had a good night's rest in a long time, not since Cupid had confronted him.

He lifted himself from out of his chair, stretching his muscles as he stood. He let out a little groan as his back popped, but it was a good kind of hurt. He'd take physical pain over emotional any day. It was easier to be apathetic when he didn't feel torn in half all of the time.

He made his way out the door of his chamber, the torches hanging from the walls leading his way closer to the belly of the building, where his father's throne room was. It was where he stayed more often than naught anymore, a place where Persephone rarely went if she could help it.

Nico passed a few dead centurions on his way, faces of teenagers he'd briefly met while visiting Camp Jupiter. They'd fought against Camp Half-Blood during the final battle, and they'd lost. Nico felt little sorrow for them; although he didn't care for most of the other demigods, he did care for Hazel, and she had had to fight against them.

The doors elicited a low groaning as he pushed them open, the wood heavy and aged. Hades turned around, having been staring out one of the windows, looking down at the River Styx below. He was surprised by the interruption; Persephone and Demeter were down in her garden talking about things he really didn't care about, and Nico had been even more morose and jaded than ever before. He didn't know why, but he wasn't about to ask.

"Nico? What is it?"

"I want to visit Elysium."

Hades sighed internally. He knew why Nico wanted to go there; the two reasons that _always_ made him want to go there. Maria and Bianca were both there, waiting for him to join them one day. Hades had an underlying feeling Nico would risk himself before too long, just to get there sooner.

"You know that you can't do that."

Nico shook his head forcefully, his hands clenched into fists at his side, his tenacity more obvious than his self-preservation. He didn't care what his father did to him; he still held a grudge against him for many things, and as his flaw foretold, he'd speak out before he thought about the consequences.

"I can if you call off Cerberus."

"You know that that's not what I meant."

Nico let out a strangled cry. He wanted so badly to stop hurting the way that he did. He wanted to talk about his feelings with someone, but he knew that he couldn't. Even if they weren't to judge him, he would judge himself. He may live in the twenty-first century, but he was born in the thirties.

"Nico," Hades lamented, at a loss as to what to do. He didn't know why Nico had been so malevolent in years past. He knew Nico had still yet to make peace with Bianca's passing, but it seemed to be something else that plagued him, not related to her death. Hades wondered fleetingly if it had anything to do with his insolent nephew, but waved that off. Percy was annoying, sure, but Nico seemed to be fond enough of him.

"No, father, please, let me visit them."

"You wanted a sister, and so I gave you Hazel. If you wish to find a familial comfort, go to her. I cannot bend the rules, even for you."

Under his breath, Nico said, "You mean _especially _for me."

Hades heard, but ignored him. After the things he had said to Nico during the Second Titan War, he wasn't surprised that Nico still didn't think he cared for him. He didn't think his son would ever look to him the way Percy looked to Poseidon.

"Go back up there. This is the land of the dead, and you are not. Visit those insufferable children at Camp Half-Blood, or go and make normal friends. Find yourself a girl."

Nico's heart clenched and he bit his tongue. If he told his father what was on his mind, his father would never love him, no matter what. Hades could never know the truth.

He bowed his head solemnly, and backed out of the room. The two guards waiting outside the door closed it in his face, and he turned on his heel to run out. He passed his step-mother and his aunt, both who ignored him, and hurried down to the River Styx.

Nico stared into the black water, sure that if he looked hard enough, past the diplomas and broken toys, he'd find his own hopes and dreams swirling around. Right before he shadow traveled out of the Underworld for the first time in months, he swore he saw the face of Percy staring back at him.

o.O.o

Annabeth tried to swallow the nerves building up in her stomach. She was being irrational, she knew, but she couldn't help it. She'd never been in a situation quite so awkward before, and never alone. In the past, at least Percy had been there. Now, he was off with the person who had made it awkward in the first place.

Annabeth avoided meeting Sarah's gaze; instead she stared at the large clock on the wall. She liked that it was analog and not digital. Her dyslexia couldn't mess that up for her like it did on modern clocks.

_11:57_

"This is fun," Tyler muttered under his breath.

Everyone ignored Tyler's sarcasm. It was the exact _opposite_ of fun. Annabeth didn't like that she was sitting with all of Percy's friends while he went off and defended her honor, or whatever it was he was doing. If a point needed to get across, she could give Jordan the message just as well as Percy could, if not better, and he knew that.

Sarah cleared her throat. "So, Annabeth," she said, "what do you like to do?"

_Beat people up with my boyfriend_, she thought, but figured that wouldn't go over well, especially after Jordan accused her of killing someone. She had other ventures, at least, ones that were more normal and wouldn't scare off Percy's friends.

"I enjoy reading and architecture."

Sarah bit her lip. "Um, well, I play the Sims. You can build nice houses on there."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I prefer temples."

"Of course you do," Sarah muttered. Annabeth had to be the weirdest person she'd ever met, and they seemed to have absolutely nothing in common, except liking Percy. How was she supposed to be her friend if they couldn't communicate civilly with one another?

"What do you like to do?" Annabeth finally asked.

"I swim with Percy and…Jordan."

"Are you any good?"

Sarah thought that was a little rude, but reasoned that that was just Annabeth's personality.

"I'm not _Percy_ good, or anything—"

Annabeth snorted. "Of course you're not."

Sarah _knew _that was rude. She glared at the blonde across the table from her. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

Annabeth swatted at the air. "I didn't mean that to offend you; it's just _no one _is as good at swimming as Percy is. Percy kind of has an affinity to water. He's always been the best at swimming."

Sarah nodded. "Oh."

Tyler jumped in then, causing all three of the girls to flinch back in surprise. "Well, that was the most uncomfortable conversation I've ever heard. Why don't you guys just talk about girl stuff?"

"You mean like boys?" Macy asked him dryly.

Tyler nodded, grinning at her impishly. "Feel free to talk about me, ladies."

"Okay, my boyfriend accused Annabeth of killing someone, so Annabeth's boyfriend is probably killing _him_. Sarah doesn't have a boyfriend, but she used to like Annabeth's. And no one likes you. Is that better?"

"You used to like Percy?" Annabeth asked Sarah.

Sarah held up her hands, slightly scared of the blonde. "Not anymore!"

Annabeth began to laugh, surprising everyone at the table. They stared at her with wide eyes, none of them sure how to react, not having expected that response from her.

"Are you alright?" Macy asked her finally.

Annabeth wiped the tears from her eyes and let out another giggle. "I'm sorry, it's just that's not even surprising. Just about every girl that ever got to know Percy ended up liking him. It used to make me so angry, but now that I know he doesn't even realize how they feel about him, I find it hilarious."

"Oh," Sarah repeated.

"Like Rachel?" Tyler asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, she kissed him. It was before we'd gotten together, though. He actually considered going out with her. He didn't tell me that, but I know it's true. She actually let him know how she felt. He liked that. I was too afraid of my feelings when we were younger to tell him. Next, there was Calypso. She loved him. He almost…went out with her, too. But he came back to me. And then there was Reyna. But he turned her down, too. He always turned them down for me, even when I didn't deserve it."

Tyler snickered. "You two are so hopeless. Honestly. He talks about you like there's no other girl on the planet, and you talk as if he's the only guy on it."

Annabeth smiled at him despite herself. "If you knew Percy the way I knew him, you'd understand why I thought that way. And you'd know why so many girls fell for him. I don't know how they couldn't."

Macy raised her eyebrow. "I get that he's hot and everything, but seriously, what is so irresistible about him?"

Annabeth saw Percy and Jordan walk through the doorway, and hummed. He caught her eye, and he winked, letting her know that everything was right again. Her heart melted, and she couldn't help the blush on her cheeks.

She looked back at Macy. "Maybe one day I can actually tell you. But not today."

Jordan whisked Macy away, and Percy sat down beside her again, putting his arm around her. She settled into his embrace, knowing that as long as she had him with her, all of her hopes and dreams would come true.

* * *

**A/N What did you all think? Did you like the Nico part? He's definitely important, so I thought I should introduce him sooner or later. I hope you guys caught how each section of this chapter is related. There's a few ways. Can you find them all? I'm not even sure if I can, and I wrote the blooming thing!**

**Can you guys believe it's still Annabeth's first day? I was writing about her first day _chapters _ago. I hope you don't think things are moving too slowly; first days are big deals, and their dirty laundry just HAD to be waved in the faces of the mortals. **

**Um...so, what do you guys think of Nico? I want all of your opinions! I don't think anything against him, I just personally think Rick forced it. It didn't seem really planned out to me, but that's just my thought. Did any of you guys see that coming? And if so, can you tell me HOW? I love Nico, and I always wanted him to be happy. Now I don't know how that can be without breaking up my OTP (which would ruin my life so that's a NO NO). I honestly didn't expect that twist. I don't blame him, though; who doesn't love Percy? I certainly do. **

**Sorry if my last chapter had a few errors. I wrote it and posted it at like 2am, so I was tired, and I'm pretty sure my contacts had gone dry. Just like they're doing now, considering it's 1:27 and I've been staring at a computer screen for the better part of an hour. Why is everything so _bright_? Ouch. **

**OHEMGEE I have to dissect a cow's freaking EYEBALL next week. We're supposed to show off to the eight graders that are coming over to check out our school for next year, though I have a feeling I might just scare them away instead. I don't know how I'm going to fare around eyeballs; they kind of freak me out when they're outside of their head. And soon I'll have to paralyze a rat and cut it's head off - all in the name of science! I'm not so sure why I went into this program anymore...**

**Thanks to:**

**Isabella Frida-Marie Cullen**

**ShadowWalker207 (207)**

**BookReaderIsReadingBooks**

**zerowinz**

**RascalJoy**

**llamaprincess13**

**AndronicaJackson11398**

**TARDISbluu**

**littlemae4**

**Guest- This was as soon as I could update! I hope you liked it!**

**Screams- I hope you didn't find any mistakes here, but if you did, point them out to me. I want to know what I'm doing wrong so I can fix it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a great day and keep reading!**

**huge fan- lol that's how I usually react to cliffhangers! When Percy and Annabeth were actually cliffhangers themselves, I was screaming idghsa;glkehalgj too! **

**marshaz333- hopefully I can come over some time soon!**

**Okay, so I've reached a verdict. No more "happy as a (whatever animal)." Animals don't seem to be eternally happy, so I'm changing things up. I'll tell you things that make ME happy, and you guys can tell me what makes YOU happy. First off: Polka dots. I seriously love polka dots. They always make me happy, especially when they're on my socks. Do y'all like polka dots, too?**

**Thank you all for the reading suggestions! I'd love any more! Don't be afraid to get crazy! I love PJO, but I have an eclectic taste. I generally read the classics. Do your worst, readers!**

**You guys are the bees knees! Keep it up, 'cause you rock my polka dot socks! Tell me what you thought! **

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Hello, my fellow fanfictioners! How are you? If you're having crazy weather like I am, I hope you're being safe! **

**So, here's chapter eleven! It's kind of fluffy...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, or any of Riordan's stuff. Yep.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Annabeth grinned as the final bell of the day rang overhead, signaling the end of school. Kids all around her flocked out the door, headed towards the parking lot, anxious to escape the tyrannical oppression otherwise known as high school.

Percy smiled over at Annabeth, eliciting a flurry of butterflies in her stomach, just like he always did whenever he looked at her like that, like he loved her, like he'd always loved her and always would. It made her go lightheaded. It messed with her in the best possible way.

"Time for detention," Annabeth smirked, pushing her feelings down.

Percy scowled playfully at her, reaching his hand out for her to hold onto. She took it gladly, ignoring the pucker of his lips and the twinkle in his eyes.

He led her from the classroom and to their shared locker, a comfortable silence settling between them, louder to her ears than the encompassing noise of their peers that swarmed around them. When she was with Percy, she was _only_ with Percy.

He entered the combination on the lock, twisting it back and forth, clockwise and counterclockwise, never releasing her hand. They exchanged their gym bags for their backpacks, shut the door, and angled their bodies towards one another.

"What are you going to do?"

Annabeth tucked a curl behind her ear, sighing, her eyes meeting his.

"I'll probably just hang out in the library," she said. "Read or work on some blueprints or something."

"You don't have to wait for me," he told her, knowing that arguing was futile. She would do the same things no matter where she was, and he'd rather her be near him than far away where he couldn't get to her should he have to.

"I'll always wait for you, Percy Jackson."

He didn't want to leave her, but Paul would have his hide if he didn't show up. He squeezed her hand twice and pecked her on the cheek, turning on his heel and hurrying towards Paul's room.

"I love you," he called over his shoulder, nearly running into a soapy mop bucket that had been abandoned by a janitor.

Annabeth laughed as he disappeared around the corner.

"He's such a Seaweed Brain," she murmured happily.

o.O.o

Vick's stomach churned with anger, his veins burning with barely restrained hatred. He had passed by the demigod couple on his way to Mr. Blofis' room, and while they hadn't noticed him, having been too caught up in each other to see anyone else, he had noticed _them_. They looked genuinely happy, something that lit a fuse in him. He was angry that Percy, someone who seemed to have enough going for him—his random freak out the other day notwithstanding—also had a beautiful girlfriend. It wasn't fair, he thought, that he had no one while Jackson had everyone. It made Vick want to punch him in the face, but he knew that that wasn't wise, considering he was in detention for trying that just last week—the key word being _tried_.

It also bugged him that Percy had not only escaped him, but had also managed to break his fingers. The thought made his fingers ache, a tingling itch crawling up and down his injured digits, a phantom tickle, prompted only because the stupid splint he was forced to wear was in the way. It meant he couldn't play in the last few games of the season. Coach was more than angry at him, and Vick thought he was trying to get back at him by recruiting Jackson. If he did, it would at least give Vick the chance to lay into the punk without facing any repercussions.

Vick stalked down the hallway, his left hand shoved down into his pocket, lint scratching at the knuckles of his uninjured fist. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to hit _Percy_.

He wanted to not want that.

The door to Mr. Bofis' room was open, and he could see the teacher sitting at his desk, his head down, staring at something in his lap. He had hoped to make an unnoticed entrance, but Paul sensed his presence and looked up, pushing his spectacles farther up the bridge of his nose. He laid a now closed copy of their mythology textbook down in front of him, pushing away from the desk and standing up.

Vick quickly sat down in a seat pushed up against the wall, and buried his face in his folded arms, ignoring Paul's prying eyes.

"Andrews," Paul called, though Vick didn't look up.

Paul honestly didn't like him. Deep down, he knew that he should probably give the boy the benefit of the doubt, assume that he'd merely had a bad day the week prior, but he couldn't. Vick was a bully, plain and simple, and no matter what happened to him when the day was done, he had no excuse to treat people like he did. If anyone deserved to act up every now and then, it was his own stepson. Pride swelled in him that Percy was so well behaved, that he continuously did the right thing regardless of the hardships he'd faced. What reason did Vick have?

"Andrews, we should talk before Percy gets in here."

That made Vick's head snap up, shock on his face. "What do you mean? Jackson's in here, too?"

Paul eyed him curiously. "Yes, he got detention for fighting with you."

"_You_ gave _him_ detention?"

"Yes, he got into a fight. He broke school rules. He had to be punished."

Vick just shook his head, clearing his mind. He knew it wasn't fair, none of it, but he couldn't blame Mr. Blofis for doing his job, especially considering that he gave his own stepson detention, too. Maybe he wasn't as nepotistic as he'd thought.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I think you should see the school councilor about your anger. You give into your feelings too freely, and it's getting you into trouble. This is the time when you should be thinking about your future, and getting suspended or even expelled isn't going to make a college want you."

"It's not like I have a chance of getting into college now that your emotional son broke my throwing hand. He should see the councilor about not being as sensitive as he is."

Paul crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes flashing. He'd always been a pacifist, preferring to use his knowledge with the English language to compensate for his lack of upper body muscle, but since he'd married Sally, he'd been more inclined to settle disputes with his fists. His family was the one part of his life that he protected wholeheartedly, and it made him irrational. He couldn't see reason where they were concerned. He'd never wanted to hit a student before, but now he wanted that more than anything.

"Sit there, and don't say another word," Paul warned, returning to his desk, his voice quiet with his anger.

Percy walked in soon after, a small skip in his step. Paul could see how happy he was now that Annabeth was back, and it made him in turn just as happy. All he and Sally wanted was for him to smile again, to laugh and joke around like he had before Gaea ruined their lives, and now he finally had that chance.

"Hey, Paul," Percy greeted, plopping down in the desk closest to his stepdad.

Paul grinned and stood up again, his hands clasped in front of him. "Okay, I'm going to do something a little different today. Instead of you two sitting here, twiddling your thumbs for an hour, I'm going to set you to work."

Percy and Vick concurrently groaned, neither of them looking forward to doing even _more_ school work, especially since they'd both believed they could use the time to nap.

"None of that," Paul said, his face stern. "You're studying the Greek myths in your English class, so I thought this was a great opportunity for you two to get in a little extra credit."

"What do we have to do?"

"You two are going to write a story about life during ancient times. Write yourselves into a myth, or make up your own. Pretend you're a demigod, and you have to prove yourself."

Vick didn't know why Percy suddenly grinned. The assignment sounded horrible to him, and he knew Percy didn't do so hot in English, either. It was why he was in a regular class despite him having an English teacher at home to help him.

"I'll be picking your parent, of course," Paul told them. He looked at Vick, and said, "You'll be the son of Ares."

"Is he the fire guy?"

Percy snorted, but Mr. Blofis shook his head. "Ares is the god of war. If you need to know anything else about him, all his information is on page five in the textbook."

Vick nodded, satisfied with that. At least he didn't get one of the pansy gods, like Aphrodite or Apollo, or something. War was a good fit for him.

"And you, Percy," Paul grinned. "You're Zeus' son."

o.O.o

On the other side of the building, in the gym, Tyler sat at the top of the bleachers, going over his notes.

He and Macy had made plans to meet up after school ended, and she was running late, which was surprising. She was very punctual, and she'd already been late a few times just that day. He knew that her stupid fight with Jordan had really gotten to her, but he'd never known her to be so affected before. She was usually more resilient than that.

He looked at the paper she'd told him to bring, reviewing the list, though he'd practically memorized it since he first started on it over the weekend. He'd spent most of his free time thinking about it, trying to figure out a reasonable explanation. He just couldn't find any answers.

The double doors swung open and Macy hurried inside, her heeled shoes _clack, clack, clacking_ across the gymnasium floor, a look of extreme seriousness on her face. She was all business, and Tyler knew that he had willingly subjected himself to one of his worst nightmares: being alone with Macy when she was in a bad mood.

"Hey, Mace," he wearily greeted as she climbed up the bleachers, her arms out from her sides, flailing around, trying not to fall. He bit back a chuckle as she glared at him, knowing she could hurt him despite her delicate frame.

"Why did you have to sit _all the way up here_?"

"This is the best place! You have the wall behind you, which is insanely more comfortable, and you can spy on anyone that comes in here!"

Macy rolled her eyes. "We're supposed to be working, you dolt. We're not here to spy on anyone! If we were going to be spying on people, I would've worn all black, despite how unflattering that would be, and we would be following Annabeth around the library."

Tyler held up his hands, huffing. "Whatever. Here." He shoved the notebook paper at her, and she quickly plucked it out of his hands, her nails leaving little crescent shaped indentions in the edges of the paper.

She looked over it quickly, snorting under her breath as she read all his bullets. She cocked an eyebrow when she got to the last part, looking at him disbelievingly. "They know Tristan McLean?"

He nodded his head. "Apparently they're friends with his daughter. I looked her up while I was waiting for you. There's hardly anything about her on Google, but it did say he had one. Her name's apparently Piper."

Macy scrunched up her face. "Annabeth _is_ from California, but not LA. She said she was from San Francisco. How would they have met?"

Tyler shrugged.

She turned back to the paper, filing the information away for later.

"They both speak Greek?"

"Yeah. Isn't that weird? Who knows Greek unless they live in Greece? It's not really a common language, especially not here."

"How'd they even learn it?"

"Beats me. But all those myths seem to be a big part of their lives. I mean, his name is _Perseus_, he keeps using weird myths as analogies to his own life, and he keeps mentioning Gaea whenever he has a panic attack."

"Maybe they met at a Greek enthusiast convention or something, and that's how they met," Macy mused, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. "They're too differently similar. They had to have met because of their weird obsession."

"I heard them mention some place called…Camp Half-Blood, I think. I don't know what the name means, but that could be where they met."

Macy nodded her head, agreeing with him. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and did a quick Google search on the name. Nothing came up about anything camping related. In fact, the only thing that _did _come up was a strawberry business called Delphi Strawberry Service. Well, that and Harry Potter things, but Macy knew Percy hadn't read those books.

"The only lead we have is this strawberry thing. Percy and Annabeth don't really seem like the type of people to farm, or whatever, and Percy's never mentioned having a job before."

"He never mentioned Annabeth, either, so we can't rule it out."

Macy conceded, saving the address in her phone. "We should call them later; see if we can find anything out."

Tyler heard her sigh, and glanced over at her curiously, wondering what was wrong. He'd assumed she'd be a lot more excited about their whole scheme than she was. Usually, snooping was one of her favorite pastimes, but it didn't seem to bring about the usual merry twinkle in her eyes.

"Are you okay, Mace?"

She shook her head, burying her head in her hands, her knees trembling, causing her whole body to quiver. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, afraid she'd hit him. She tensed slightly, but she didn't bite his head off, so he kept it there, moving it around in a small circle, trying to comfort her.

"What happened?"

She sniffed, looking up, meeting his gaze. "It's Jordan."

"What did he do? I thought you guys worked everything out."

"He's lying to me, Tyler. He said he just made it up, trying to be funny, but I know that he actually believes he saw Annabeth kill that guy. You should have seen him when he told me…. And then when he came to apologize, he just _laughed_ at me. He _laughed_."

"Do you want me to sic Percy on him again?"

Macy chuckled, wiping her eyes. "I'm being stupid, aren't I?"

"No. Your feelings aren't stupid, Mace. Maybe you're being melodramatic, but you shouldn't be sorry for how you feel. Does Jordan know how upset you are about it?"

"I just kind of ran off. He made me so _angry_! I've never fought with him before, but now I don't know how! Everything he's done today made me want to punch him in the face, and I would if he was here and I heard his stupid laugh again."

"Someone wore their feisty pants today," Tyler joked, bumping her gently with his shoulder.

She turned and smiled up at him, the mirth once again in her eyes. He was glad to see her back to normal. He'd deny it if anyone asked him, but he liked it when she smiled. She was overtly pretty, anyone could see that if they looked at her, but she was gorgeous when she genuinely smiled. His heart ached looking at her, and as if he was no longer in control of his body, he reached out and cupped her face in his hands, pulling her close and kissing her.

He wasn't going to pretend he saw fireworks or heard angels sing, or anything else like that, but it did make him feel _alive._ It was the first time he'd ever acted on his feelings before, the feelings he'd buried deep down when Macy and Jordan had started dating, and no matter what happened, he wouldn't regret doing it.

He pulled back and looked at her, her eyes fluttering, her cheeks red, her lips still pursed. He wanted to remember her like that, to capture the way she looked right then in his mind forever, to hold onto when everything went wrong, because he knew things wouldn't work out for him in the end, not with her.

"Oh my God!" she whispered, shooting up, her eyes huge, her hands covering her mouth. "Oh my…. I can't believe—"

He gulped, playing with his fingers. He didn't want to hear her guilt, hear how much she regretted kissing him back, because she _had_ kissed him back, he knew that much. He didn't want to see her face crumpled up with sadness. He didn't want her to look at him shamefully, or, even worse, he didn't want her to _not_ look at him ever again. He didn't want their friendship to be ruined.

"I'm not sorry," he told her, finally standing up, gripping her hands in his lest she run away from him. He held on tightly as she gasped, flexing her fingers but not pulling away from him.

"You kissed me," she murmured.

He grinned despite himself, shrugging slightly. "You kissed back."

"I'm a terrible person."

"No, you're a _human_ person. It's okay to give in to yourself sometimes, you know."

"Not when I have a boyfriend, it's not! Even if we are fighting, I can't just pretend that what I did was _okay_. It's not. It's wrong!"

"It won't happen again," he promised, his heart heavy. "Not unless you want it to. We can go back to just being friends. We'll call this strawberry farm, and we'll wear all black and stalk Percy and Annabeth, and we'll do what we've always done. Nothing has to come of it."

Macy shook her head and pulled away. "I—I have to go," she said, turning and hurrying back down the bleachers, disappearing out the same doors she'd come through not ten minutes earlier.

He wanted to chase her, to say whatever he had to in order to smooth everything out, but words were lost to him. He'd made his bed, and now he just had to hope that she'd forgive him and that not everything was destroyed beyond repair. He couldn't lose everything.

It wouldn't be fair.

o.O.o

Percy had stormed out of room _317_ as soon as the little timer on Paul's desk had chimed. He'd handed his paper to him with a scowl, which had done nothing but make his stepdad laugh at him, only adding to his anger.

The paper was lackluster at best. It was the worst thing he'd ever written, and he'd written lots of horrible things in his years as a student. The worst part wasn't even having to pretend to be Zeus' son; the worst part was pretending to _like_ Zeus. He had to write about how 'cool' it was to be the king of the gods' son.

It just made him sick to his stomach. He had two friends who were actually children of Zeus and even they had some issues with him. How was he supposed to write about liking him when his own kids didn't?

He entered the library as quietly as he could, thankful that the stupid paper was behind him and that Annabeth was in front of him. He could see her hunched over the table, papers spread out all around her, an array of pencils ranging in different sizes to her right, rulers and various other instruments to her left. Looking at her like that, in her natural element, doing her thing, it made him happy, and all thoughts of being Zeus' son fled his mind as good things replaced them.

He made his way over to her, shuffling along the burgundy carpeting, ignoring the librarian's watchful eyes. He could only see Annabeth, though it was fairly obvious that she hadn't even noticed him when he realized he'd been standing right behind her for the better part of a minute and she still hadn't said anything. He loved watching her concentrate on her work, seeing her get lost in what she loved.

Annabeth was staring at the sketch she'd come up with while she'd been waiting for Percy to get out of detention. The idea had come to her suddenly, and she couldn't help but draw it out, her mind on nothing else but the building she'd mentally constructed. She hadn't even thought about _what_ it was she was drawing; only that she _had_ to draw it. Looking at it now, her stomach rolled, knowing she was crazy, but she couldn't help but giggle as she titled it.

Percy spoke up from behind her then, and she jumped, whirling around to see him grinning down at the paper.

"So that's what our house is going to look like, huh?"

She blushed, shoving all her stuff back into her backpack. "Shut up," she muttered under her breath, embarrassed that he'd seen her sketch.

He pushed her around, the smile still on his face. "You're so cute," he told her, tucking a curl behind her ear, his eyes never leaving hers. "You drew our house."

"Go away."

He chuckled. "Most girls plan their wedding, but you planned our house."

"Seriously, Perce. Leave me alone."

Percy waited while she shouldered her backpack and held his hand out for her, pulling her out of the library once she'd intertwined their hands. She pulled away when they got out of the building and began running ahead, pausing only to stick her tongue out at him and call, "Race you!" over her shoulder, laughing at his stumped expression.

"No fair, you cheater!"

He raced towards her, quickly gaining on her. He had a lot less in his backpack than she did, which he thought was funny considering it was only her first day. He grabbed onto her arm and spun her around, hearing her little surprised scream.

"I thought you said you'd wait for me," Percy murmured, his face close to hers.

"That was before you laughed at me," she breathed.

"You're adorable," he told her, pecking her quickly on the mouth before sprinting ahead of her, leaving her dazed behind him.

She stood there for a second before realizing what he'd done. She shook her head, narrowing her eyes at her own foolishness. They always pulled little stunts like that at camp, and she should have seen it coming. She _always_ had a plan, but not then. He'd been the one with an ulterior motive.

"Now who's the cheater?" she yelled after him.

"I'm not cheating; I'm just using my gifts!"

"Of course! Obviously you got _cheating_ from Poseidon!"

He grinned back at her. "I'm talking about my devilishly good looks. You can't resist me."

"I'll be resisting you for the rest of the day, you cheater!"

Percy knew he'd probably regret it, but he didn't stop running. He liked the glory of beating her just as much as he liked kissing her. Well, not really, but she wouldn't hold out long against him. She liked kissing him just as much as he did, and so he knew that they'd both win in the end.

He'd always win as long as Annabeth was on his side.

* * *

**A/N Um, what are your thoughts? I kind of think that was the best canon Percabeth I've done so far, but I could be totally crazy. **

**Did you like it? I know it's kind of fluffy, and some of you don't go for that, but there was definitely plot in there! Did you guys expect Tyler to be all overcome with feelings and just kiss Macy? I hope not, but it's okay if you did. **

**So, it's my brother's birthday today, and he's going to ask his girlfriend to wife him. It's a totally cheesy plan, too, but it's kind of adorable. She's making him supper, and so when she goes to give him his gift, he's apparently going to be, like, "What I really want is for you to be my wife," or something along those lines. He's all nervous, but we know she's going to say yes because she's asked me why he hasn't proposed yet. I'm excited to get a sister! And his proposal sounds a lot better than what I want when I'm older. I just want a guy to take me to Taco Bell and slide one of those sauce packets that say "Will you marry me?" over to me. I either don't have high expectations or I really like Tacos.**

**Eh.**

**Thanks to:**

**AndronicaJackson11398**

**pipermclean**

**zerowinz**

**TARDISbluu**

**Mango21**

**ShadowWalker207**

**llamaprincess13**

**BookReader10**

**hting**

**RascalJoy**

**UponACrowsWing**

**FallenHuntress26**

**haajoo master**

**hawthorneash13**

**Bloodtributes**

**Starriewonders317**

**my cat drools p- Sorry about always having school. School's a bummer, isn't it? I love my English teacher, and I hope I have her for the rest of my high school career. But good for you for being happy for your teacher despite how it effects you. Maybe things'll work out. The ninth grade at my school is technically part of the high school, but it has its**** own little building with its own gym and cafeteria and front office, and everything. We were kinda secluded. Venting's fine! I'm glad you don't mind sharing! Sorry Tyler's not gay... Surprise! Thanks! I agree; Percy's a lot cooler when he gets upset. My cat makes me happy too! She's adorable, and is sitting on top of my CP. Don't apologize about length! Now I know what you thought, and that's important to me. Thanks again!**

**huge fan- one of the OCs will find out REALLY SOON. Sorry you have to wait. I wish I could just write all the time, but life gets in the way. If only my life was strictly writing. I'd be pretty happy! And I'm honored that you'd give me a shout out even in death! That's truly fantastic! And I had my midterms before Christmas, but thanks for the belated support! I _think_I did well. Other things got in my way: school, snow, ice, friends, etc. etc... Good luck when you take them!**

**screams- thanks! I really appreciate it!**

**Mosh- any questions?**

**Seriously, guys, you floor me each and every time when I see your reviews! You've never had anything but kind words, and it warms my heart in this freezing weather! I don't know how to thank you all enough for your continued support! I could tell you about how penguins make me giddy, but really, it's you guys that do! Well, penguins do too, but especially you all! I smile every time I open my inbox and see something from one of you! I just want to give you all things that make you as happy as you make me! Obviously that won't be polka dots, but to each their own!**

**I LOVE YOU IN THE LEAST CREEPY WAY POSSIBLE!**

**Tell me what you thought and what you love and anything else! I love talking to you guys! **

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir! **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N So, you guys might hate me, and I'm terribly sorry about that. School has been crazier than should be legal, and I'm just honestly very exhausted. Woo. Anyways, this is kind of the chapter you've all been looking forward to. It's...probably not what you expected. At all.**

**Disclaimer: It's not mine. Eh.**

**Happy birthday huge fan!**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

Light glared in through the hastily closed blinds, shining directly into Macy's shut eyes. She rolled over onto her back, groaning, fatigue settling over her mind like a heavy quilt, weighing her down. She fluttered her eyelids, squinting at the sudden brightness. Peeking towards her right, she saw that her mom's unmade bed was empty, probably long deserted. Macy rolled out of bed and shuffled towards the bathroom, curling her toes on the cold tile beneath her.

Looking into the mirror, Macy could see all of her problems clearly displayed on her face: her broken heart in the crow's feet around her eyes, her worries in the wrinkles between her eyebrows, her depression in the downturned puckering of her lips.

How could Tyler kiss her? Why would he even _want_ to? She was a mess.

She didn't feel like getting ready, and she especially didn't feel like going to school today. There was no way she wanted to face anybody, not when she looked as broken as she felt inside, but she had no choice. Her attendance was perfect, had been since kindergarten, and she wasn't about to ruin the only good thing she'd ever done.

Before, waking up had been the easiest part of the morning. She would get ready with a flourish, thinking about how Jordan would smile when he saw her, how he'd compliment her curled hair or laugh at her added height in her heeled shoes. She loved imagining all the things he'd say to her, knowing that he would somehow outdo her musings, even if he said nothing at all. Now, she couldn't even begin to guess where their relationship would be, if, when he finally _did_ say something to her, his words would be complimentary or not.

Macy didn't want to think about yesterday, or even of the day to come. She'd have to face both of the boys who had added to her worriment, and she'd have to tell them _something_.

Even though she really didn't want to, she would have to tell Jordan that she and Tyler had kissed. It was lying otherwise, and she hated lying, even by omission. There was no way their relationship could continue if she couldn't be honest with him, even though being honest might also ruin their relationship in the end.

She shook her head, trying to bury those thoughts. She'd never accomplish anything if she kept thinking so pessimistically.

Going through the motions, she got dressed, fixed her hair, and applied her makeup so that no one could see the dark circles under her eyes. Macy sighed, looking at the insouciant version of herself in the mirror. She felt uncomfortable in the casual outfit, not used to wearing t-shirts or jeans in public. She didn't feel like herself, but thinking about what had happened the day before, she didn't _want_ to be herself. She wanted to be anyone else.

She went to grab a light jacket, remembering the slight chill to the air the day before, but stopped as she heard a knock on the door. Only a handful of people knew she was there. It was either her mom who had forgotten her room key, a complete stranger who was going to kidnap her like one of those horror stories you saw on the news every couple of years, or, even worse, it was Tyler or Jordan.

Macy stepped up on her toes, peeking through the peephole, and furrowed her brows as she saw the messy blonde curls. She unchained the door and opened it wide, seeing the amused face of Annabeth, her hand fisted, ready to knock again.

"Annabeth? What are you doing here?"

Had Tyler told Annabeth? She didn't think they had really hit it off yet, but that didn't mean he hadn't told _Percy_, who would then tell his girlfriend. Was Annabeth there to chew her head off? Was _Annabeth_ going to kidnap her like one of those horror stories you saw on the news every couple of years?

Annabeth smiled somewhat, dropping her hand to her waist. "I'm here to offer you a ride to school."

"You have a car?"

Macy thought back to elementary school, where the lady from Stranger Danger would come to their assemblies and talk about what to do if you were ever kidnapped. She knew there was no way she could head butt Annabeth, what with their differences in height, and obviously kneeing her in the groin would bring about no success, but if Annabeth put her in a trunk, she might have a shot at kicking out the taillight.

"No, but Paul is about to pull up outside. He's very punctual, so if you don't want to walk, you should hurry up."

"What?"

Annabeth stared curiously at her friend, noticing the unfocused glaze in her eyes, the slight sheen of sweat across her forehead, her rapidly pulsating jugular. Macy was scared, and Annabeth had no idea what she'd done to frighten her. Was there monster slime on her pullover?

"Are you okay?"

"You're not going to kidnap me?"

Annabeth flinched backwards as if Macy had struck her. A lot of possible scenarios had gone through Annabeth's mind, such as the possibility that a monster had smelled Percy or Annabeth on Macy and decided to attack her, but kidnapping was the last thing she would've considered.

"_What?"_

A grin broke out on Macy's face, and she flung her arms around Annabeth, hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad you're not going to murder me," she mumbled into the cotton of Annabeth's shirt, her voice muffled.

"Why would I kill you? You believe Jordan?"

Macy pulled back, shaking her head, her eyes huge. "No! Of course not! I thought you were going to put me in your trunk for Tyler or Jordan!"

"Why would you think that?"

Macy sighed, turning on her heel and going back for her jacket. "I can't talk about it, not yet. Not until I've actually told Jordan about it."

Annabeth opened her mouth, about to ask Macy what on earth she was going on about, but thought better of it, shaking her head dismissively. She leaned against the dark wood of the archway, watching as Macy opened the bureau in her room.

She slipped the jacket on over her shirt and bounded back towards the door, her usual joyfulness back in place on her face. She pulled the door closed behind her, and the two made their way towards the elevators.

"Thanks," Macy murmured once she'd pressed the button. "For the ride, I mean."

"They were coming to pick me up anyways. It's no big deal."

"Okay, well, still, thanks."

Annabeth looked down, suddenly realizing that Macy was about a head shorter than her today, a lot shorter than usual. "Why aren't you wearing heels?"

"I'm not Macy today."

"Who are you, then?"

"Call me Ishmael!"

Annabeth smiled, recognizing the opening line to Herman Melville's most famous novel. "Is there a reason you're quoting Moby Dick?"

"I feel like an outcast today, and I need a miracle. Why not?"

"Alright. I'm still Annabeth, though." She paused then, and narrowed her eyes. "Who's your Moby?"

"Myself. I'm the source of the chaos in my life."

"Chaos isn't always a bad thing, though. Look at Percy. He's chaotic, but I love him," Annabeth joked, nudging Macy lightly in the side with her elbow. "You just have to find some stability amidst all the chaos, something that makes it all worth it in the end."

Macy closed her eyes, sighing, wondering how she could possibly take the chaos in her life and turn it into something better, into something good. Knowing what she was going to have to do once she made it to school, she couldn't imagine how that was possible.

Finally, she said, "I suppose," and left it there, ready to face her fears, and deal with the outcome of admitting her true feelings.

o.O.o

Percy pulled Annabeth into Dr. Boring's classroom, unhappy to see that his teacher had returned.

Annabeth squeezed his hand before dropping it, and marched up to Dr. Boring's desk to inform him of her presence. Based on what Percy—and even Paul—had said to her, she could almost say without any doubt that she'd be having just as rough a year as Percy was. Not only would Dr. Boring objectify her for being with Percy, he would likely torment her because of her dyslexia, as well. English was about to become her least favorite time of day.

"Hello, Dr. Boring," she greeted, mustering up as much goodwill as she could knowing what she did about him. "I'm Annabeth Chase."

He looked her in the eyes, his own eyes cold and calculating, his face a mask of indifference. When he opened his mouth, his sharp tone cut into her, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out at him.

"Well, _obviously_, you're Annabeth Chase. If walking in with Jackson didn't give it away, the fact that I've never seen you in my classroom before would have."

"Yes, well, _obviously_ I was just being courteous. I just need to know where my seat is and I'll need any necessary materials."

He rolled his eyes and pushed away from his desk, retrieving a textbook from off the bookshelf behind him. "This is the mythology book we're using. I hope you don't share the lack of interest in the Grecian culture that your boyfriend does." He looked around the room, smiling when he saw Vick sitting alone at his desk. "Your assigned seat will be next to Mr. Andrews back there."

Annabeth nodded curtly, taking the book from his hands, and walking back over to Percy, who was grinding his teeth. She placed her hand on his arm, hoping to calm him down before he did something drastic, like break Vick's other hand.

"It'll be okay, Percy."

"He's going to try something, Annabeth."

Annabeth smirked at him. "I'm capable of handling myself."

"I don't like that you have to."

"Well, I do, so get over it." She looked around the room and saw Tyler already sitting at his desk. "Go talk to him. He looks…weird."

Percy grinned. "He's probably the most normal friend I've made in years. First there's Grover, who's half goat, and then there's Tyson, who only has one eye. I think asking for anything more than Tyler is kind of pushing it."

Annabeth shook her head, smiling slightly at his antics. "No, I mean he looks upset. Something happened between him and Macy yesterday, and it's obvious that it's still bothering both of them."

Percy looked over his shoulder at his mortal friend, nodding his head. Annabeth sent him a smile before she made her way over to her new seat. Percy gripped Riptide in his hand as he saw Vick check her out, the little nagging voice in the back of his head saying that Annabeth would rather be with someone normal, someone that wasn't crazy and messed up like he was.

He sat down in his desk a seat away from Tyler and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay?"

Tyler half shrugged, not sure how to answer him. He knew how much Percy cared about Macy, and if he told him he'd kissed her, he couldn't be certain that Percy wouldn't be angry with him, too. Before Jordan and Macy had started dating, he'd told Percy that he'd liked her, but he didn't expect him to remember that. At least, he _hoped_ that Percy didn't remember that.

Percy dropped it, instead trying to covertly spy on Annabeth and Vick in the back corner of the room, though without much success.

Tyler snorted and Percy turned back to look at him questioningly.

"She's not going to just fall into Vick's arms, Perce. Stop being creepy."

"I'm not being creepy! I'm being cautious."

"Whatever."

"You're not allowed to talk about me and Annabeth if you're not going to tell me about you and Macy."

Tyler gulped, his face flaming up. "How did you know it was about Macy?"

"Besides the fact that Macy's wearing _pants_ today instead of a skirt, there's that look on your face, like you did something really bad, but you don't care because it was worth it. Whatever's bringing you so much joy is killing Mace."

Tyler dropped his head, letting it smack against the desk, the cheap contact paper peeling off, curling around his face.

"I kissed her," he admitted, looking back up at his friend. "I kissed her, and she kissed me back, but then she ran away."

Percy ran his hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes, trying to buy time to come up with something helpful to tell his friend.

"Well, I'm not really surprised, I guess. But you picked the worst time to do it, now that she's fighting with Jordan. It's only going to make everything worse when she tells him."

"She's going to tell him?"

"Duh. She's horrible at lying."

"Crap. I've ruined everything, haven't I?"

Percy didn't answer, knowing that nothing he said could cheer Tyler up. He'd screwed things up for _someone_, even if it wasn't himself. Either Jordan would be out of a girlfriend, or Macy would reject Tyler. Possibly both. Things would be awkward between all of them no matter what happened.

The bell rang then, signaling the beginning of second period and ending their conversation simultaneously.

"Miss Sloan said you were all well behaved yesterday," Dr. Boring said, looking at the bubbly letters the substitute had written on a pink Post-It note. "Let's hope that you'll be even better today."

He leaned up against his desk and told them all to get out their notebooks and turn to the next chapter. It was usually everyone's favorite myth because it was the one they were all the most familiar with. It would be especially fun for him this year, with Percy in his class.

"Today we'll be talking about a few different myths. Mostly we'll be covering Medusa, but, of course, that also means Athena, Poseidon, and Perseus."

Richard saw Tyler's head snap up out of the corner of his eye, but didn't really pay attention to him, more focused on the scowl forming on Percy's face.

"Who would like to read first?" he asked. A girl who always raised her hand to read despite her illiteracy volunteered, so he called on her, knowing she was going to irritate everyone in there.

"_Medusa was the daughter of Phorcys and Keto. She had two sisters, Stheno and Euryale, both who were born Gorgons, though she herself was originally a mortal. She was very beautiful, and many men wanted her for themselves, but she wanted to be a Priestess in Athena's temple, and thus she had to remain a maiden."_

"That's enough," he called, stopping the girl once she'd finished the first paragraph. He saw Annabeth, and decided to gauge her ability to read. "How about you give it a shot, Miss Chase?"

Annabeth looked down at her book, tuning everything around her out, focusing only on the words in front of her. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to read it without messing up, and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her new peers that wouldn't understand.

"_One day, Poseidon saw her as she was entering Athena's temple, and found her to be the most beautiful woman he'd seen. He knew he had to have her. He followed her into the temple and wooed her. Athena, who watched over her temple, appeared in a fit of anger. She couldn't punish a god, but she could punish Medusa, a mortal who had broken her vow of maidenhood and desecrated her temple. She cursed her, turning her into a gorgon like her sisters, only instead, she was even more hideous. Athena banished her beyond the Hyperborean lands where she lived."_

Dr. Boring could tell that Annabeth was dyslexic, just as Percy was, but she seemed to fair better with it than he did. He was sure that no one else in the room could tell that she had a disadvantage, and he remembered his conversation with his coworkers earlier in the week, where he told them Percy should seek assistance from someone who could help him overcome his dyslexia, and he thought that maybe Percy should consider Annabeth's tutelage.

"Alright, Annabeth. Next, Mike, would you like to read?"

"_Medusa was exiled to the Isle of the Gorgons. No longer was she revered for her beauty. Serpents grew from her head, and talons protruded from her hands. If she were to look anyone in the eye, they would turn to stone and die instantly. The mortals feared her and called her a monster. Every night they would pray for help from the gods. King Polydectes sent Perseus on a quest to kill her."_

"Does anyone know what a demigod is?" Dr. Boring asked the class then as Mike finished reading.

Another girl raised her hand, and said, "The offspring of a mortal and a god."

Tyler gasped, and said, "He's a demigod!"

Dr. Boring shot him a scathing look, nodding his head and rolling his eyes again, annoyed by the boy's realization of the obvious. "Yes, Perseus is a demigod, Tyler." He clapped his hands slowly, mockingly, and stared at the obtuse student.

Tyler looked at Percy with wide eyes, finally piecing everything together, not sure whether to believe himself or not. Thinking of the list he'd made the week before, however, he didn't see how it could be anything else.

First, Percy spoke Greek fluently, which was _weird_, but would make so much sense if he were the son of a Greek god. Second, ever since he'd met Percy's dad, he'd been even more curious about who his friend really was. It was so blaringly obvious now; _Don_ was Posei_don_. It would explain why he lived in a palace because of course the god of the seas would have some kind of magical sea castle under the ocean. Third, it really explained why Percy had such crazy skill in the water, and it wouldn't surprise Tyler to know that Percy was cheating like that. It was the only answer the made any sense, but it was so preposterous that it made absolutely none at the same time.

He felt sick at his stomach, and he wanted to get out of the room and away from Percy before he did something even crazier than his theory.

He raised his hand, waving it slightly, waiting for Dr. Boring to call on him.

"Yes, Tyler? Any more philosophical words to share?"

"I'm going to barf," he muttered.

Dr. Boring motioned towards the hall pass. "Make it quick. You have a quiz to take when we're finished."

Tyler snatched it off the peg on the wall and hurried towards the bathroom, feeling his stomach roll with every step. Everything was blurry, and he couldn't walk straight. He felt as if he'd just done ten rounds on the Tilt-A-Whirl, and he wanted off. He pushed through the bathroom door and dashed into the first stall he came to, not bothering to latch the door behind him. He kneed down on the filthy floor, his face hovering over the seat, the stench of drugs filling his nose, making matters worse. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he released the contents of his stomach in the toilet.

He stayed there, hugging the commode, tears streaming down his cheeks, even after he was finished puking. He was disgusting and didn't want to face anyone.

He didn't want to see Percy.

Tyler was so out of it, he didn't notice that anyone had entered the bathroom after him until someone had put their hand on his shoulder. He jerked back, turning to look at the guy that had found him in such a vulnerable position, and almost screamed.

Percy watched as Tyler cringed away from his touch and scooted back against the wall, trying to get away from him. Percy could see the terror and disbelief in his eyes, and he could smell the putrid stench of his breath due to Tyler's panting. The room was closing in on him, and Percy wanted to yell or hit something. He'd imagined what it would be like if any of his friends ever found out, but he'd never pictured it happening like this. He didn't think they'd be _afraid_ of him. This was his worst nightmare.

His gut tightened, and he heard the pipes groan from inside the walls and from under the floor. Tyler must have heard it too, because he shot up, staring at the toilet still soiled from earlier. The bolts on the pipes fell off, and water came bursting out from every possible place, soaking Tyler in his own vomit and old toilet water.

Tyler started shouting, both begging for Percy to get away from him and for Percy to stop it. He didn't know whether he was more repulsed with himself or with his best friend, but it felt nice to yell at him, to take his feelings out on someone.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"I'm sorry!" Percy cried, trying desperately to calm down before he flooded the bathroom completely.

"You're _sorry?_ Are you kidding me? You're the son of Poseidon, you've covered me in upchuck, and you're _sorry?_ Is that seriously all you're going to say?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me I'm wrong!"

Percy closed his eyes, concentrating, and finally heard the water pressure lessen until it stopped altogether. The water bill for Goode was probably going to be really high that month, but at least they wouldn't have to repair the boy's bathroom completely.

"Would you honestly believe me if I told you that you were?"

Tyler rubbed the heel of his palm over his eyes, wanting to open them and not be there anymore. He wanted to wake up in bed, have it be six o'clock again, and start the day over. He wanted to not know that Percy was a demigod. He wanted to make jokes about everyone, and worry about his own problems. He didn't want to think about how Percy had probably killed people before.

"Annabeth…. She really killed a guy, didn't she?"

Percy shook his head numbly. "No. It was a monster. I don't know which one. Maybe a Cyclops or something."

"A monster. So you _do_ fight monsters like they did then."

Percy nodded, his hand once again clamped around Riptide. He pulled it out of his pocket and ran his thumb over the cap. He couldn't do anything to Tyler, didn't _want_ to do anything to Tyler, but he wanted to do _something. _He had too much nervous energy buzzing inside of him, and he needed to take his frustration out on something.

"Yeah. I've killed Medusa."

"But Perseus killed Medusa," Tyler argued, before something occurred to him. His face became even more sallow, and his eyes widened impossibly more. "Are you _that_ Perseus? Are _you_ immortal?"

Percy couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head. "No, I'm not him. I'm Poseidon's son, not Zeus', thank the gods. And I turned down immortality."

Tyler stared at him unblinkingly, and Percy cursed at his own stupidity. He was obviously telling Tyler too much. Tyler was already weak, and now he was just confusing him even more by throwing information at him that he himself didn't always understand.

"I need to go," Tyler muttered, staring at his feet.

"I'll go with you. We can talk this all out."

Tyler glared at him. "I don't want to go anywhere with you, Percy. I don't know if I _ever _want to go anywhere with you again. You're—you're a monster."

Percy backed up, feeling as if Tyler had just run him through. He'd been called some pretty horrible names in his life, and people had said some terrible things to him, but no one had _ever_ called him a monster. He'd never felt so awful before, not from someone's words. Tyler ran past him, almost tripping in the puddles of water, but Percy didn't try and help or go after him. He just slid down the wall, his eyes blankly staring at the place where Tyler had been curled up when he first walked in.

The bell rang not too long after that, and a few guys walked in, but they all ran back out before they'd even fully stepped inside. They probably hurried off to get the janitors or the principal while Tyler went to get the police or the SWAT team, or something. Would people come and run tests on him? Would they treat him like an alien? Would he be hidden at Area 51?

He dry heaved as he recounted what had just happened in his mind, visualizing all the horrible things that would happen to him and probably all the other demigods because of him.

The door opened again, and just as he was about to yell at the guy to go away, he looked up and saw Annabeth standing there.

"Annabeth," he croaked.

"Oh, Percy," she murmured, dropping to the ground and folding herself around him, holding him tightly as he shook, his arms wrapped around her waist. She stroked through his hair, crooning quietly, trying to calm him down. She didn't tell him everything would be alright, knowing that it might not be, but she told him that _they_ would be alright. She knew that, without a doubt, they were strong enough to make it through whatever had happened between him and Tyler. They'd make it, no matter what happened.

Always.

* * *

**A/N (part two) So, what are you all thinking? Surprised? Yeah, Tyler's not exactly thrilled with the news...**

**This is my longest chapter, by the way. It's the one that stressed me out the most, too, but this is how I always pictured Tyler reacting. I didn't want Percy to kill a monster and Tyler be all like, "Cool, dude," because that's cliche. I wanted drama and antagonism and all that fun stuff, and I hope you did, too!**

**I don't know where the Moby Dick part came from. I've just always loved the symbolism in that book, and I thought it worked, so...**

**Um...so the textbook part was kind of awkward for me to write. I've never written a textbook before (thank the gods), and I wasn't really sure how to do it. I would've just used an ACTUAL textbook to do it, but most sources don't use the myth that's in the books. Others typically believe that Medusa just boasted about her looks and said she was more attractive than Athena, so Athena cursed her to teach others to not be so prideful and vain. That wouldn't work with the whole PJO universe, though. So yeah.**

**The whole kidnapped thing was actually unintentionally inspired by haajoo master. I was actually kind of Macy in the real life scenario...**

**Anyways.**

**My hair dryer caught on fire. Like, how does that happen? I freaked out, and I threw it out in the snow, so I don't have a hair dryer anymore. And now my dog is afraid to go outside and do her business because it's out there and she doesn't know where it came from. **

**Eyeballs aren't so creepy once you cut them open. When you take everything out, the sclera looks like a mushroom, the iris looks like an olive, and the aqueous humor looks like a little jellyfish. The iridescent layer is really pretty, but people don't have that. It's what makes animals see in the dark, but it's also why they don't see in color, so I _guess_ I'm happy that we don't have it. I _guess._**

**My brother's getting married in October on a farm, but it's still supposed to be really fancy. I don't know if I'm supposed to wear flannel taffeta or what, but it'll be an experience. **

**So there's my spiel about my life. I know you guys don't care, but I have to, so I might as well include you in my nonsense. I'm finished.**

**Thanks to:**

**LadyCruelWriter**

**llamaprincess13**

**RascalJoy**

**Starriewonders317**

**Bloodtributes**

**AndronicaJackson11398**

**haajoo master **

**zerowinz**

**TARDISbluu**

**FallenHuntress26**

**Mosh- I'll always answer your questions!**

**Guest- I know what you mean. I love getting out of school, but I hate wearing three pairs of socks.**

**huge fan- HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I hope you'll forgive me!**

** You guys rock all three pairs of my socks off. My toes are cold, but it's worth it. **

**Um, so I've been really horrible with replying to reviews and whatnot, and I hate that, but my life has been weird and school has been unforgiving. Plus, the powers been out down here in my quaint ole state lately. I can't control the weather or the electricity, unfortunately.**

**OOOOH! I totally forgot, like TWICE, but I wrote that Nico's sister is kind of just chilling around in the underworld still. She's not. She opted for rebirth, and I feel kind of stupid for forgetting that. None of you said anything, but I'm sure you noticed my idiocy. Let's just say for the sake of this story that she's still a little ghosty, okay? It is fanfiction, after all. **

**Thanks again! You're good people. You make me happy when skies are grey, and they are most definitely grey right now. **

**-SheCan**

**Au revoir!**


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